The Girl On Fire
by mocca93
Summary: Katniss Everdeen is reaped as a tribute for the 74th Hunger Games, but this time everything is different...
1. Hunting

„NO! NO! PLEASE DON'T! PLEASE!" Prim's crying echoed through the room and made me shiver. I was on her side immediately and tried desperately to calm her. It's been the third time this week that she has been dreaming of the Hunger Games.

„Calm down, Prim. Everything is alright!" I took her in a tight embrace and kissed her forehead.

„Katniss, I'm so scared", Prim cried on my shoulder and moved even closer to me. Today was Reaping Day and she was terrified of being reaped as a tribute.

"Prim, it's gonna be alright. Your name's only in there once, they won't pick you." I wiped away the tears on her cheek. "Try to go to sleep again, okay, little duck?" She gave me a short nod and a little smile appeared on her face as I mentioned my nickname for her. "Thank you, Katniss. I love you."

"Love you, too, little duck." I smiled at her and waited till she had fallen asleep again.

When I heard her steady and deep breaths I went to bed again. I wanted to go hunting really early, so getting a bit of sleep couldn't be the worst thing. But no matter how hard I tried I couldn't stop thinking about the Reaping. My own name was in the bowl more than twenty times because I signed up for tessera, but I was more worried about Prim. Since my father was dead and mum fell in some kind of deep depression she was the most important person in my life, one of the few people I really cared for. I had no idea how I'd cope if she had to go into the arena. I rolled from one side of the bed to the other calmlessly without finding sleep again.

I got up in time with the sunrise and made my way through the woods. It was perfectly quiet outside and not a single person was on the street. I absolutely loved moments like these. I took a deep breath and watched the sky. The sun slowly made its way through the clouds and it was supposed to be a good day. Before I crossed the fence I scanned the surrounding for other people, but I was alone. In district twelve hunting was illegal and I wasn't allowed to cross the fence, but in fact that has never kept me from doing it.

Only little time had passed when I heard a noise in the bushes. I aimed my father's handmade bow at this place and a couple of seconds later I noticed a deer. My arrow was ready to be shot and…

"Already been lucky today?" With these words the deer was gone. Great!

I dropped my bow with a single angry move and turned round.

"Damn you, Gale!", I hissed at my best friend and hunting partner and starred at him with anger in my eyes. I got even more in rage when I saw the big grin on his face. How could this idiot even grin right now?

"Hi Catnip!"

I laid my finger on my lip to make him shut up and tiptoed further into the woods. If Gale didn't kill the whole thing again I could still catch the deer. I noticed that Gale bent down and threw something through the air. All of a sudden the deer appeared in front of my eyes again and this time the odds were in my favour.

"Not bad, that's a really nice piece of meat", Gale said when he had examined the deer.

"It's your luck I still got to shoot it. If you frighten my prey once more I am gonna kick your ass."

Of course Gale started laughing at my threat. "Oh yeah, I would really like to see that."

I boxed him in the rips and sat down in the grass. He took the place next to me and opened his backpack. "I guess you haven't had breakfast yet, right." Gale handed me a piece of bread.

"Oh my god, is this real baker's bread?" I asked him excitedly.

"I really hope so. Otherwise old Mellark will get to know me."

I took a bite of the fresh bread with relish. God, that was really good. Gale and I sat next to each other quietly for a while, then he wiped the crumbs off his trousers and looked me in the eyes. "Already exited for tonight?"

"I am worried about Prim." If someone understood my worries it'd be Gale. His father died in the same mine explosion as mine did and since then he has had the responsibility for his mother and his three siblings.

"I know. Rory's name is in there, too." He faced his shoes and I immediately knew that he was more than uncomfortable with this situation. Rory, Gales younger brother was just 12 years old, exactly as old as Prim.

"How often is your name in the bowl?" To be honest I didn't want to know that. In my opinion he could be picked far too often.

"Forty-two times. But yeah, it'll be alright. As always."

I had no idea what to say. Gale just looked at the sky. "Damn, that's complete bullshit." He took a bit of grass and threw it away.

"What are you talking about?"

"Geez, Katniss. The whole Hunger Games are just a tool to demonstrate the Capitols big authority. More than twenty people die in this fucked up arena every year and I don't know how many people watch and laugh. That's insane."

I stare at him, surprised by his outburst. That's definitely a side of Gale that I have never seen before.

He noticed my glance. "What? It's true. These damn Games wouldn't last a single year if no one watched it."

"I know. But how do you want to change that?", I asked him sceptically.

Gale thought about my question for a moment. "Come with me."

That response really took me by surprise. "What?"

"Let's leave. We could reach the border before the Reaping starts."

"Are you crazy? We wouldn't make it five miles."

Hi grinned. "Do you really think so?" He pointed at the dead deer. "We both know how to hunt and how to survive in the woods."

His arguments were pretty good, that's for sure, but WHAT THE HELL HAS GOT INTO HIM?

After a moment of silence he continued talking. "Seriously Catnip, what's the worst thing that could happen to us? We could die, okay, but that could happen to you here as well. And now imagine that we really make it. We could flee and start a new life. A life without the Capitol and the Hunger Games. A life without pressure…"

"What about our families? Gale, we both have siblings and single mums. I just can't leave Prim and mum."

His answer came right away. "We'll take them with us!"

I gave him a short laugh. "Prim in the woods? Forget it." Even the thought of my sister running through the woods in her pretty dress and that silly cat Buttercup in her arms made me grin. The chances that Prim would agree to run away through the woods were kind of not existing.

"I'm sorry, Gale. I'd really run away with you if I could, but I definitely can't."

Gale sighed. "It's okay. Was a bad idea."

Once again an embarrassing silence dominated the situation.

After a while Gale asked weather I would like to go on hunting and together we shot a couple of birds before he walked me home.

"See you later then", he said before we reached my house. "Wear something pretty."

I nodded and when I turned round the next time, he was gone…


	2. Reaping

As soon as I entered the house Prim ran into me, screaming. "Come on, Katniss, we have to get ready." Then she took my hand and pulled me into our small bathroom.

"Would you help me, please?" My sister looked at me pleadingly and I took her in a tight embrace.

"Sure, little duck. Do you want me to braid your hair?"

She nodded and I gave her a kiss on her cheek, then I started braiding her hair. Again I had to think about the Reaping. What if Prim was reaped? God, I really didn't want to think about that…

"Thanks!" Prim jumped off the edge of our bathtub and left the room. I closed the door with a smile on my face and enjoyed having a couple of minutes of privacy. While I was getting ready Gales words were rushing through my mind. Could we really make it – running through the woods, escaping from our district? Without Prim and mum? I shook my head and tried to get rid of these thoughts, but this possibility kept me thinking all the time. You couldn't say I was in love with Gale but he was definitely someone to bear. He was my best friend, my hunting partner and you could rely on him, no matter what.

When I left the bathroom half an hour later I heard quiet voices in the corridor. Mum was standing in Prims room, helping her with her dress. I watched the situation in astonishment. I haven't seen mum like this since…since dad died. During the past years she has only been living in her own world and hardly ever been talking. She started caressing Prims cheek. "Don't be afraid, darling."

I felt the lump in my throat getting bigger and bigger, especially when Prim started crying and flinged herself in our mother's arms. "Mum, I don't want to be a tribute. Help me."

"Prim, you don't need to be worried. Your name is only in there once, they won't pick you", I tried to calm her and rubbed her back. But I had no idea who I really wanted to calm, me or her…

Time was passing fast and suddenly it was time for attending the Reaping. I prayed about a thousand times that they wouldn't pick one of us or the Hawthornes. Prim, who was walking next to me, looked at me worriedly. "Everything alright?"

"Sure." I couldn't show her how scared I was, it would have made her feel even worse. During the afternoon mum took care of her touchingly and I couldn't stop being amazed. That was the first time she had taken control of our life again since dads death. Before Prim and I left for the Reaping she took me aside. " I hope you know how proud I am of you. How you took care of…" She started crying at the end of the sentence.

"Mum, it's okay." I could barely stand seeing her like that.

"No, it's not. I should have been there for you much earlier. I am so sorry."

I tried to interrupt her, but she cut me off. At the end of our talk she made an indication which nearly swept me off my feet. "Darling, it's time for you to start living, too."

I looked at her in amazement. There was no way she could know about Gale's plan, could she? Unfortunately she left the room before I had the chance to ask her.

We had arrived in the center in the meantime and I scanned the crowd for Gale. He had been looking for me, too and when our eyes met, I had made my decision.

"Prim, you have to queue up now. I have to settle something, but I'll be right back, okay?"

Prim looked at me sceptically, but she didn't say a word and started queuing up.

I ran to Gale as fast as I could and pulled him with me.

"Katniss, everything alr.."

I cut him off. "Okay."

"What?" He sounded confuse.

"I am coming with you."

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"If we don't get reaped tonight, I will run away with you."

His face lit up at once, but then he stared at me quizzically. "Without Prim and your mum?"

I shook my head. "I will try to persuade them to come with us. If I succeed we can leave tomorrow."

This time it was him who shook the head. "Catnip, it could be too late tomorrow." He pointed at the crowd and I knew what he wanted to say. I took a deep breath and looked at Prim who was still standing in the line. Two peacekeeper were at her side and scanned the crowd. There was no way I could get her out of the line.

"Don't worry, your mum is strong. And so is Prim. I am sure my family will take care of them." Gale's eyes followed my glance.

"I know." My heart started racing. Could I really be such a bad person? Leaving my sister and my mother behind? In this moment I remembered mum's words. I took Gale's shirt and pulled him closer to me. "Let's go."

He took my hand and pulled me with him. I couldn't believe I was actually doing that.

We hadn't even passed the second block when I felt a hand on my shoulder. At first I thought it was Prim, but the deep voice proofed me wrong. "Where are you going?" Damn!


	3. Reaping Part II

I bit my lip and turned round to see a peacekeeper standing behind us. It was exactly the same one who had been standing next to Prim a couple of minutes ago. Gale squeezed my hand harder than before. "We just wanted to get something from my house", he tried to save the situation, but the peacekeeper only shook his head and pulled us back to the crowd. Wow, this went really well…

"Fucking shit", I heard Gale cussing. He tore his hair is desperation and bent down to me. "I am sorry."

"It's okay", I whispered as soon as the peacekeeper couldn't hear us anymore. "We still can leave tomorrow."

In this moment a strangely dressed woman entered the stage and started with the Reaping.

"Welcome, welcome. My name is Effie Trinket and tonight I have the outstanding honor of leading through this Reaping. The Capitol wishes Happy Hunger Games to all of you and…may the odds be EVER in your favour." She smiled encouragingly at the crowd and presented a short film-clip. As always it was a mix of promotion for the Capitol and some kind of introduction in the Hunger Game's history. Next to me Gale snuffled with contempt. "How nice."

You could hear Effies voice again as soon as the clip was over. "And now the choosing of the tributes. As always…ladies first." Her hand slipped into the big crystal ball to pick one the many slices. She took one and looked at the crowd. "How exciting. I always love this moment." Yeah, who doesn't?

"This years female tribute is…." She opened the piece of paper. "PRIMROSE EVERDEEN!"

I froze and stared at this tiny piece of paper in her hand. No, that was impossible. It couldn't be her, her name was only in there ONCE for heaven's sake! The girls around me started flashing me glances, but I was still not able to move. I felt like I couldn't breath and all I could see was my little duck heading to the stage. The peacekeepers were at her side immediately, pushing her forwards. I ran after her as fast as my feet would carry me. "PRIM!"

She turned round and I could see the tears running down her cheek. Of course the peacekeepers didn't care at all and continued pushing her to the stage.

My heart started racing and I closed my eyes. "I VOLUNTEER! I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!"

When I opened my eyes I found everyone staring at me and not a single word escaped their mouths.

"NO KATNISS, DON'T DO THAT!", Prim cried, but I had already made my decision. There was no way she would go into the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen, district twelve's first volunteer!" I heard Effie Trinket's voice, but it seemed too far away. The peacekeepers took my hand and pulled me forwards. Before I entered the stage I looked back one last time. Gales face was pale, white as a sheet of paper, his expression frightened and…hurt. He was holding Prim who had started sobbing uncontrollably at his shoulder in the meantime. I wanted to scream something to them but one of the men gave me a hard push and I had to climb the stair to the stage.

"Hurry up, darling." Effie took my hand and pulled me upwards. Then she pulled me to the microphone, her heels clacking on the floor. "What's your name?"

"K…Katniss Everdeen."

"I bet that was your sister, right?"

"Yes."

"How sweet. Well, well. A big applause for Katniss Everdeen."

When I took a look at the crowd again all the people touched three fingers of their left hand to their lips and held it out towards me to give me one last silent salute.

I didn't have a chance to be stunned or even to move when Effie pulled me to the second crystal ball. "Now it's time to choose the male tribute.", she spoke with a wide grin on her face. God I couldn't express how much I hated this woman right now.

Her hand slipped in the ball a second time, picking one sheet of paper. "PEETA MELLARK!"

Peeta? The baker's boy? O lord, please don't do this to him!

"I volunteer."

Terrified I looked in the crowd and saw where the voice was coming from. NO! PLEASE DON'T LET THIS BE REAL!


	4. Haymitch

The whole world around me seemed to disappear when I heard these words and I couldn't really see the person who was heading to the stage. But that was enough for now.

"How exiting! For the first time in history District Twelve has got two volunteers. Young man, would you tell us your name?" Even the voice of Effie Trinket seemed to be miles away. I stared at a point straight ahead, not daring to turn my head, everything else would have been too much. I felt the person next to me taking my hand and pulling me closer.

"Gale Hawthorne." I was still praying that this was some kind of terrible joke, that I was only dreaming. That shouldn't have happened. He had to take care of his family, he shouldn't be standing next to me right now. No, Katniss, stay calm. I wished I would wake up now, finding myself at home, surrounded by a laughing Prim.

I couldn't hear a sound and dared to open my eyes. But I wasn't at home. I found myself standing on the stage, hundreds of people staring at me. And every single of them dropped their hands from the farewell they had just given the young boy standing next to me.

...

I heard Effie saying something and in the next moment Gale's hand led me in his direction and pulled me in a tight hug. But before I had a chance to realize it, Effie was leading us from the stage. As soon as the first shock was gone I noticed the light room around me.

"Your family will be here any minute!", one of the peacekeppers explained and left the room.

Only seconds later the door opened again and Mum and Prim were bursting into the room.

"Katniss!", Prim cried and flinged herself in my arms. Her whole body was shivering.

"Calm down, little duck, okay? Don't cry!"

"You can win, Katniss. Try to come back, will you?"

"Of course I will. Promise. I won't leave you alone", I whispered and stood up to hug mum. Her face was frozen, without any expression.

"Mum, listen. I can make it, okay? Try to be there for Prim exactly the way you have been this afternoon. You can't leave this time, did you get that? You have to live."

She nodded and took me in a tight embrace. "Sure, darling."

...

"Your time is over. You have to leave now", a deep voice disturbed the moment and the peacekeeper pulled Mum and Prim out of the room.

"I'll see you soon. Promise", I shouted but I wasn't sure if they had heard me. Then the whole room was silent again and the only thing I could hear was the hammering sound of my heart which seemed to jump out of my chest. I sat down with a loud sigh and waited for Effie to pick me up. I stared at the door with fear, but no one came into the room. It felt like eternity till someone opened the door. I stood up and looked at the entrance, but it wasn't Effie who showed up.

"Madge? What are you doing here?", I asked, but she just gave me a small box.

"I don't have a lot of time, the peacekeepers are getting nervous. I just wanted to give you a token." She knew me too well, because she interrupted my protest within a second. "Just take it and come home, okay?"

"Thank you." I stared at the small parcel, touched by her gesture.

"No big deal. Good luck.", she said and disappeared as fast as she had arrived.

...

Finally Effie entered the room and took me and Gale to the train which should bring us to the Capitol.

"Hop on!", she squealed far too cheerful and let us enter. I opened the door to our wagon and froze. Everything was really big and glamorous. Plates full of food were on the table and I could tell for sure that I have never seen so much food before.

"Take whatever you like!", Effie encouraged us and sat on the couch. Gale took the place on the other side and I sank on the sofa next to him, completely exhausted.

"So, you guys know each other?", she asked curiously and her glance switched from Gale to me and back.

"Yeah, we are hunt…..ähm…we are friends." Damn, Gale nearly spoiled it. Fortunately Effie hadn't heard the first part of his sentence. "How nice."

Nice? How the fucking hell could this be nice? We could die and all she managed to say was "Nice"?

...

"So, these are the two naïve dorks?" The deep voice caused Gale and me to turn round and we were immediately facing a shabby man in his mid-forties, who held a bottle of liquor in his hand. He fixated us with his eyes and I felt like he could see straight through my body. The coldness in his eyes let me shiver.

"Ah, Haymitch, good you finally showed up." Effie pointed at the empty seat next to her, then at us. "May I introduce Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne. Gale, Katniss, this is Haymitch, your mentor."

Mentor? This drunk moron was responsible for us? Wow, this seriously couldn't be worse…

"Trinket, where is the ice?", Haymitch growled and scanned the wagon.

"Not now, Haymitch! You've had enough." Effie wanted to take his glass, but Haymitch pushed her away, his drink landing on the floor.

"Fucking great", he hissed and took his place on the couch. "Rule number one, you don't interfere in my drinking. Rule number two, you do what I say. If you want to stay alive you should trust me. You got me?" I stared at him stunned. We were as good as dead.

"Any questions?...No?..Fine, then I'll explain how the whole thing works. We'll reach the Capitol in a couple of hours, then you'll get an apartment. You have exactly four days to get ready for these games. You are going to train with the other tributes and you'll have a private session with the Gamemakers. Try to impress them. Good impression means sponsors and that's my job, okay? Good, everything else will be discussed in the Capitol." Haymitch took his glass, filled it up and left.

...

"So, this dude is responsible for keeping us alive?", Gale asked, his voice full of anger. Effie smiled at him. "If you want to say it this way, yes."

Gale groaned and dropped back into his seat. "Great. This is a real nightmare."

"Well, Haymitch may seem to be…kind of rough, but he knows the Games as good as his minibar. You can really trust him." To my surprise Effie put her hand on Gales knee. He faked a polite smile and took her hand off his knee again. During the next hour I hoped that Effie would leave so that I could speak to Gale in private, but she always stayed at our side, trying to keep us entertained. God, how could one single person be so annoying? All I wanted was one minute of privacy, that really wasn't too much, was it?

I was absolutely glad when the train slowed down a couple of hours later and then the Capitol appeared at the end of the hill.

"Kids, you should get prepared for arriving in the Capitol. Just five more minutes." Effie seemed to be far too exited for my taste. That was exactly the point why I hated these Capitol people so much.

Finally the train stopped and the door opened, leading us into an unknown future.


	5. The Capitol

"Welcome to the Capitol", squealed Effie into my ear und pushed me out of the train, Gale right next to me. We were surrounded by a huge crowd and everyone was screaming and shouting our names. At first I couldn't keep my eyes off this whole ridiculousness. The people from the Capitol had really strange hair colours and dresses. Then I noticed the mighty and colourful houses, which would fit for at least three families in District 12. I did my best to conceal my anger and just shook my head slightly. Gale bent down and whispered in my ear. "If you consider the fact that there are people starving in Twelve, this is just crazy." I nodded in agreement. The whole thing was nothing but bizarre.

"Come on, kids. Hurry up." Effie led us to a car and a couple of minutes later we arrived in the center of the Capitol. My heart started racing when I realized that this was the moment when the 74th annual Hunger Game had begun…

…

We followed Effie into an elevator. She pressed the button "12" and grinned. "Every district has its own floor and since you are from 12, you get the Penthouse." She opened the door and I was the first who entered the apartment. It was – to describe it with one word – huge. Really huge. I couldn't stop staring and even Gale's eyes widened and that should mean something. "You better get ready for dinner!" Effie showed us round in the apartment. After I had closed the bathroom-door behind me I inhaled deeply. I turned on the water in the shower and let it run over my body. Then I realized what really had happened in the past few hours. I was going to be a tribute in the Hunger Games, together with Gale. Why the hell did he volunteer? Only one of us could survive! I couldn't even think about this without getting sick. What if it came down to Gale and me in the end? I couldn't kill him, not at all, not in a million years. Shit, what had I gotten myself into?

…

When I entered the dining room half an hour later everyone was already there, eating, even Haymitch sat next to Effie.

"Oh, here you are. Take a seat!", said Effie. The food smelled absolutely delicious so I took the empty seat right next to Gale and started eating.

"So, Haymitch, what's our next step?", asked Gale after the main course and looked at him with a stern glance.

"Wow, boy, don't stress me, right?" He sighed. "Fine, training starts tomorrow morning and in the evening is the public presentation of the tributes."

"Public presentation?" An unpleasant feeling was running through my body. That sounded a lot like cameras and a very big crowd.

"Yeah. First of all, there is this big chariot ride and then Flickerman, this idiot, is going to interview you", replied Haymich. Interview? Damn, I hated it so much. Gale didn't seem to be too enthusiastic about that, too.

…

The rest of the evening passed by rather silent. Well, Effie was talking nonstop, of course, but I was so tired that I didn't really pay attention. After dessert I excused myself and went to my room. I just lay on the bed and stared at the wall. I hadn't even been here for five hours and I already started missing everything and everybody at home. What was I doing here?

Okay, stupid question, it was the only way to protect Prim. I had to try to get me and Gale out of this arena. While I was thinking about that I didn't notice that my eyelids got heavier and heavier.

…

My throat was terribly dry when I woke up again. With sleepy eyes I looked at the clock at the wall and realized that only two hours had gone by. I rolled on the other side, but the thirst kept me from falling asleep. I gave up a couple of minutes later and tiptoed to the bathroom to get some water. Because of my tiredness I didn't notice that the light was already switched on and I simply ignored the swoosh of the water.

"Having a sleepless night?" Gale's voice scared me so much that I hit my head on the shelf above me.

"Ouch. Damn you, Gale. Do you have to scare me like that?", I grumbled and looked up.

Holy shit, I should really not go into the bathroom when I was almost sleeping, especially with guys living in the same apartment. It was just my luck that it was Gale, who was standing in front of me with wet hair and just a towel around his body, and not Haymitch.

Oh god, new thought please, new thought…

…

Suddenly I caught myself staring at Gale. Totally embarrassed I looked up and saw the big grin on his face. "Katniss? Everything alright?"

I started blushing. "Hm? Oh, yeah. I just wanted to drink some water. Sorry, I didn't see you."

"It's okay. Does you head still hurt?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine. Ähm…I guess I am going to go back to bed then."

"See you tomorrow." With these words Gale turned round and started drying his hair. I was nearly out of the room when an important question came into my mind. "Gale?"

"Hm."

"Why did you do that?"

"Did what?" He turned round and looked at me quizzically.

"Why did you volunteer? I mean, your family needs you, so why are you here?"

He seemed to think about that for a couple of seconds, then he came closer to me and took my hand. Before I had a chance to realize it he pulled me tight and kissed me. At first I just froze. I wasn't able to move, but after a second I laid my arms around his neck. I tried to think clear, but I couldn't think about something else than Gale's lips that were still softly touching mine. Gale's hands moved to my hips, pulling me even closer. Then he gave me one last sweet kiss and we broke apart.

"Did that answer your question?"

I only managed a short nod. He smiled at me, ran his finger through his hair and left the room.

…

The sound of his bedroom-door brought me back to reality. Did Gale seriously just … kiss me? My heart was still racing and my knees were still feeling like pudding, so I guess he did. All of a sudden I felt torn. We shouldn't have done that, we were forced to kill each other in a couple of days after all, but on the other hand I couldn't believe we just kissed. In the bathroom. And I wasn't even talking about the fact that he practically wore nothing but a towel. A million thoughts were running through my mind when I went back to my room and I wasn't able to sort them. I couldn't think about anything, so I just passed out on my bed. What a crazy day…


	6. Training

It didn't really surprise me that I lacked of sleep that night and after several hours of rolling around in my bed I got up and went into the living room. All these thoughts that were rushing through my head drove me crazy. My family, the Hunger Games and finally…Gale.

...

I noticed a black thing that was standing on a small table in front of the couch. I pressed a button and TV programme started. A blue-haired guy was chatting with a strange looking guy about the Hunger Games. When the camera caught the blue-haired one again you could read his name. Caesar Flickerman. So that was the guy who was going to interview me tonight. I watched the discussion for a couple of minutes, but it got rather boring soon, so I switched off the TV again. Great, I couldn't wait for tonight. After a while I started walking around in the room for no particular reason, but then I got tired of walking and just laid on the couch. A dee sigh escaped my mouth as I continued watching TV. "Better than nothing", I thought. Within the next seconds the image disappeared and I was surrounded by darkness.

...

"Katniss, wake up!" A high-pitched voice bursted through my dream, then a hand shook me hard and I woke up. Effie stood there, bent over me and looking at me in a strange way. "Get up, darling, we don't have much time." Still tired I went to the bathroom, but this time I made sure I was alone. As soon as I was thinking about last night I could feel the heat rising on my cheeks. Did that really happen or did I only dream? Well, I couldn't have dreamed THAT…

Ten minutes later I joined the others for breakfast. Gale greeted me with a smile, but then he blushed and looked straight at his plate. So yesterday night DID happen…

Effie – as excited as always – was talking nonstop during the whole breakfast, no matter if it was simply gossip or today's schedule. Finally Gale and I were brought downstairs to the training hall, where the other tributes were already waiting for the beginning of the session.

...

After the short introduction from a capitol worker I looked round carefully and soon my eyes caught a bow. Happy to find something familiar I wanted to take it but when I looked at Gale, he shook his head and pulled me to a different section where you could practise knots.

"Don't reveal your strengths", he whispered. Damn, why didn't I think of that. It was not clever to show your strengths right at the beginning. We started doing one knot after the other and watched the other tributes carefully. One guy was looking at me the same way, even far more carefully.

"Do you know his name?", I asked Gale.

He followed my glance and nodded. "This guy is from District Two, Cato. Don't trust him!", he warned me. "He is one of the careers."

"He is what?"

"A career. Guys like him are specially trained for the Games and often volunteer."

I had a closer look at Cato. He was a blonde, tall and extremely strong guy. He picked up a big and really heavy ball effortlessly and threw it straight through the room, a couple of metres far. Yeah, he was definitely professionally trained. Cato looked at us with some kind of victory-smile and walked to our station. "Hi."

Gale nodded.

"I'm Cato, District 2. And you are…?"

"Gale Hawthorne, District 12. This is Katniss Everdeen, District 12 as well."

Cato pointed at the knots. "Don't you think that only children and…girls have to practise knots?" He stared at Gale. "Why don't you train with us? You are going to learn a lot more."

"Thanks, but we are fine here."

"If you say so." Cato looked at me again and walked away.

...

"God, that guy seemed to be totally impressed by you", Gale said as we going to the next station.

"What? Come on, you can't be serious about that", I replied. Cato being impressed by me? Sure…

"Didn't you see the way he looked at you? Like he wanted to peel off your clothes just with his glance or something like that."

"No, I didn't. But he didn't look at me this way because I would have noticed. Don't you think so?"

Gale shook his head. "No, he couldn't show it directly, that would have been bad for his reputation. But he definitely looked at you like that."

"It would have been bad for his reputation?"

"Jeez, Catnip, there are exactly 23 tributes plus the jury who observe him. A guy like him mustn't show any kind of weakness, otherwise the others know how to hurt him."

Wow, that whole thing got more and more absurd. "And hanging around with me all the time isn't bad for your reputation?"

He flashed me a big grin. "No, not at all. After the interview everyone will know, so why making the effort of keeping secrets?"

"Keeping secrets? What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's a part of Haymitch's strategy. Trust me, you will find out soon enough."

I followed him grumbling. I really hated something like that.

...

Archery was our last station. I took the bow and threw a glance at Gale who slightely shook his head. I understood and nodded. I looked at the target, shot and…missed it by a few centimetres. Gale silently formed the word "Exactly", and took the other bow. He hit the target, but his arrow didn't touch the white line.

"Hey, where are the knives?" , a voice roared behind us. I turned round surprised and noticed a blonde guy standing next to Cato and two girls, shaking angrily. "Who stole the knives? You?" He pointed at a tall boy with dark skin and started pushing him through the hall.

Suddenly Gale began chuckling silently and pointed at a spot above me. A small girl with curly black hair was hiding in the net at the ceiling. In her hand she was holding a couple of knives. It was the same girl who had been watching me the whole time. I just had to grin at this sight. The girl hardly reached the guy's chest with the top of her head but was still stealing his knives.

"Really brave, this little one." Gale remarked and pulled me away from the spot, so we wouldn't reveal her hiding place.

...

We were dismissed after some members of the jury had stopped the fight between the two guys and we went back to our apartment. Haymitch was already desperately awaiting our arrival.

"Sit down. It's time for a meeting."

We sat down on the couch. A couple of pictures were on the table in front of us. Haymitch cleared his throat. "Step one: Analyzing the enemies. I had the chance to watch the training for a while and found out a lot. So let's go." He took the pictures and pinned them at some kind of blackboard that was standing in front of the TV. The he wrote the number of the District next to the pictures. We picked out one tribute after the other, discussing his or her strengths – at least the ones Haymitch noticed – and the connection between them. I had no idea how Haymitch could have noticed that, but I stayed silent. At least he knew the Games and seemed to know people as well, even if he hid this fact behind his boozy breath quite well.

...

One hour later Effie entered the room. "HAYMITCH, what are they still doing here? The should be downstairs in five minutes!", she squealed.

"Relax, Trinket, we still have a lot of time." Haymitch didn't seem to be too stressed and emptied his glass of bourbon.

Effie pushed us to the door. "Hurry up! We are already late!"

"Effie? Where are we going?", I asked her when we had reached the elevator.

"What kind of question is that? To Cinna, of course!", she answered as if it was the most obvious answer.

"Who the heck is Cinna?", Gale wanted to know and looked at me, but I only shrugged my shoulders.

"Cinna is your stylist."

Stylist? Good lord, I had nearly forgotten this part of the Games. Dresses and…MakeUp. This could turn into an interesting evening…


	7. Admitting the truth

Meanwhile Effie had led us into a big room, where we were supposed to wait for Cinna. In the room it was completely silent so I stood up and started walking around restlessly. Again and again my thoughts drifted away and forced me to think about the interview. Until now I had kind of repressed the whole presentation thing, but now I realized that I was scared. Really scared. Not only scared of the interview, but of the whole bullshit here. It took me a long time to realize that I was frightened to death by all the events that were lying ahead of me… of us.

...

"Katniss, is everything alright?" Gale looked at me worriedly.

"No, of course not. Damn, Gale, we are in the Hunger Games and there are 22 monsters out there that want to kill us. It scares the wits out of me! I don't want this whole thing!" All these pent-up feelings were rushing out of me like a waterfall and I was glad I said it. Gale was the only person with whom I could be myself. There was absolutely no point in lying.

At first he just looked at me, then he pulled me in his arms. "Honey, you are great, okay? You can win this thing. Just think about Prim and your mum, alright?" His hand moved up and down my back in a comforting way, but not even this could calm me down.

"IT'S NOT ABOUT ME!", I yelled at him, although I didn't really know, why. "Gale, I'm more worried about you than me", I whispered and looked in his eyes. " I don't want to lose you." My voice broke and I felt tears filling my eyes. Losing Gale was the worst thing that could happen to me now.

Gale softly touched my cheek. "I don't want to lose you, too", he whispered and looked at me in the same way he did last night. When he bent down his head my heart started racing. Again thoughts were rushing through my mind and I didn't know what I wanted. After experiencing the feeling I had last night I wanted nothing more than Gale's kiss, but on the other hand I prayed he wouldn't kiss me, it would hurt too much.

...

When our lips finally met, this well-known feeling filled my stomach. I closed my eyes and wished that this moment would never pass. The warmth coming from Gale was so familiar and comforting that I didn't want to ever let go of him again. It felt so good feeling his lips on mine. In my whole life I had never been so happy and sad at the same time before. After we had broken apart I made a decision. I would do everything to get Gale out of the arena healthy even if I had to die for that. I was only sure about one thing: I could never kill him or let somebody else harm him. Never.

My head rested on his shoulder. I had never realized how good he smelled before. He smelled like home, like the woods early in the morning, untouched and fresh and he smelled like…Gale.

"Katniss?" His quiet voice reached my ear. He was still holding me tight and I prayed he wouldn't let go of me. Even if he was the main reason for the chaos of my feelings, he was also the only one I could rely on, the only one I could hold on to.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

That was exactly the moment when I couldn't hold back my tears any longer. They ran down my cheeks like small rivers, but I didn't make the effort of wiping them away or holding them back.

"I love you, too." It wasn't hard to say these words although I had never thought I would ever say them. Usually I wasn't the kind of girl who falls in love, marries and has kids, but it was true. I took me a long time to realize it but I really loved Gale.

Without letting go of me Gale led me to a chair. He sat down and pulled me on his lap. For the first time since the kiss I looked him in the eyes and when I saw the trail from the tears on his cheek, I immediately started feeling bad. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned my forehead on his head. "I am sorry I didn't run away with you. We wouldn't have to go through this now", I whispered while moving my hands down his arms.

"Shhh. You couldn't leave, you have to take care of Prim." Gale squeezed my hand and caressed its back with his thumb. With my other hand I touched his cheek and bent down to kiss him. Our lips got closer and…

"Sorry for being late."

We broke apart quickly and stared at the three adults who had just entered the room. A man with dark skin and black hair offered me his hand, smiling friendly. "Nice to meet you, Katniss. I am Cinna, your stylist."

I nodded. Cinna pointed at the two women behind him. "This is Venia and this is Octavia. Venia will give me a hand here while Octavia will take care of Gale. I hope, that's okay for you."

Gale and I nodded in agreement. We still weren't able to say a word after the previous minutes. Cinna looked from me to Gale and back. "Don't worry, it won't take a lot of time." He smiled at us encouragingly and signalized me to come with him.

"See you later, then." This was the only thing I could say to Gale, before he left the room with Octavia. The door closed behind them and it felt like if the temperature had dropped by a few degrees within a second.

...

I cleared my throat to get rid of the lump. "So you are responsible for making me beautiful?" I asked while Cinna was leading me into one of the other rooms.

He shook his head. "No, I am here to help you make an impression. You are already beautiful." He looked at my reddened eyes and wanted to say something, but he stayed silent and softly touched my knee instead. Then he went to the other side of the room to get something. I stared at him surprised. Every other one in the Capitol would have wanted to know everything or would have just congratulated me for the huge honor of being a tribute, but he didn't say a word. My experiences with other people were very limited and I really didn't know a lot about them, but I could tell from the first second on that Cinna was different.

"Ready?"

I nodded and stood up.

"So, let's offer them a good show, hm?" When Cinna rolled his eyes depreciatively I could see his gold eyeliner. There was a MAN who was wearing GOLD EYLINER? Wow…

I smiled and let him begin with his work.

...

Cinna was the first person in the Capitol I felt comfortable with. The way he looked at me let no doubt that he was serious about every word he had said earlier. Although I had only been in his company for a couple of minutes I immediately felt like I had already known him for years. With him I could be myself. I had only felt this feeling once. I felt it a couple of years ago, when I met Gale for the first time…


	8. Chariot Ride

Cinna forbade me to look in the mirror during the whole procedure, so I didn't see my new look for an hour. I couldn't say it bothered me, but for some reason I really wanted to know what I looked like. Finally, after finishing my Make-Up, he said, "So, Katniss, are you ready?"

To be honest: Not at all. I absolutely hated interviews, exactly as much as huge crowds. Thousands of people would be watching me tonight like I was a piece of meat or a simple good on special offer. I breathed in deeply and forced me to smile. "Sure."

I had to close my eyes while Cinna led me through the room.

"Open your eyes." At his command I opened my eyes. "Oh my god!"

That wasn't really me, was it? No, it couldn't be me. With a slightly dizzy feeling I took a closer look at the person in the mirror. That could never be me.

Cinna's question brought me back to reality. "Do you like it?"

"Just one question, okay?"

"Shoot."

"That's not me, is it?"

My question made him laugh. "Of course it's you, who else would it be, little angel?"

I glanced at the mirror one more time. Cinna actually managed to let my – usually quite stubborn- hair fall down on my shoulders in slight curls. He put decent Make-Up on my face and the dress he had created for me was perfect. It was orange and red and with exception of the wide skirt rather tight. Cinna also revealed that he had hidden a special effect – at least he called it this way – in my dress. I had no idea what he was talking about but the words "special effect", "show" and "gigantic" made me kind of freaked out. What the hell was he doing with me?

...

Venia escorted me through a long hallway on which's end Gale and Octavia were already waiting for us. At first I couldn't believe my eyes. Gale looked stunning. He wore a black suit and a shirt in the colour of my dress. When he noticed me his eyes grew wide.

"You look really beautiful", he whispered and my knees immediately felt like pudding. God, why did that always have to happen in public? In the next moment I started blushing and stared at the floor. That caused Gale to burst out laughing.

"WHAT?"

"Nothing." He smiled at me.

Unfortunately that was one of the moments where you couldn't have some privacy. There was so much I wanted to talk to him about, but Effie and Haymitch had to interrupt that, of course.

"So, here we are!" Haymitch gave me a stern look. "We didn't have time to discuss our strategy…" Now he looked at Effie with anger. "Behave like a naive girl, you got me?"

"Naive girl?" I neither knew what he meant nor did I understand the purpose oft that.

"Good lord, that's not to hard, is it? Tonight you are a shy girl who giggles and twirls in her dress, okay?"

"But…", I protested, but Haymitch interrupted me with a single move of his hand. What's that supposed to mean? I had to make a dork out of myself in front of whole Panem? I looked at Haymitch angrily. That dude was crazy, that's for sure. I felt the anger rising in my body und wanted to punch him, but Cinna laid his hand on my shoulder to calm me.

"Darling, we all know you are not naive, but it's really important that you act this way, okay?", Effie told me.

...

In the next moment a chariot stopped right next to us. Gale and I were supposed to ride through the big hall on it. Cinna and Venia helped me getting on the chariot, while Haymitch patted Gales shoulder. "We discussed everything, right?"

Gale nodded and entered the chariot.

"Good, then have fun", Effie said at the end, then the chariot started moving.

"Katniss, don't forget to twirl on the stage!", Cinna yelled, before we disappeared behind the corner. Damn, why did I have to act in such a stupid way? I didn't want to be the naive one, who was only interested in her dresses. I was Katniss Everdeen, for crying out loud.

"I hate it", I hissed to Gale, who was standing next to me, holding my hand. I was so lucky to have him at my side. In his presence I felt save and … happy. I felt better with him, but I couldn't wait for this spectacle to end.

"Do you think, I feel better?", asked Gale. "This whole glitter makes me feel like a girl."

I looked at him more precisely and noticed that he was wearing Make-Up as well. Octavia seriously managed to put MakeUp on Gale's face? Just the lipstick was missing, but otherwise he had got the whole programme.

"Well, I think boys with mascara are sexy", I teased him, trying to ease the situation a bit. We were still riding through the dark hallway and I started shivering. I didn't blame it on the cool air. I had only felt this excitement at the Reaping, otherwise this unpleasant feeling which was overtaking my body was unfamiliar. Gale seemed to notice my fear, because he tightened the squeeze on my hand and bent down. "No need to worry, honey. We are done soon."

"What's your strategy, by the way?" I wanted to know. He hadn't told me yet, so I was more than curious.

He rolled his eyes. "Haymitch calls it "The dramatic boy", really witty, don't you think so?"

The dramatic boy? That was all he could tell me? Hello, anybody out here who wanted to tell me something? No, of course not, why would someone tell me something that could save my freaking life? What the heck were they up to?

"Stay calm", I ordered myself while I was playing with the thought of killing Haymitch with my own hands. He seemed to enjoy making me the "naive one" far too much.

...

We had reached the portal in the meantime, which was leading into the huge hall. I could make out the other tribute's chariots in front of us, ready for the show. Nobody said a word. As soon as our chariot was standing in line, one of the workers gave a sign and the chariots started moving again. After we had passed the entrance I heard a strange noise behind me. I turned round and my jaw dropped at the sight of the flames coming out of my dress. A glance at Gale told me that he was on fire, too. The crowd gasped in excitement as we were passing them with our hands rose high into the air…


	9. Talkshow with Flickerman

Gale and I were the last ones to arrive in front of the huge stage and when the anthem ended, President Snow walked to the speaking platform to give a speech. He greeted the audience and as always he ended his talk with the words "Happy Hunger Games and…" He looked at the crowd, "…may the odds be ever in your favour." After the big applause the chariots started moving again. Then we were escorted into a separate room. One tribute after the other had to enter the stage for his interview with Caesar Flickerman. Finally Gale and I were the only ones left.

"Katniss Everdeen?" A worker of the Capitol looked at me quizzically. "It's your turn soon, get ready."

I stood up and faced Gale. He had stood up as well and gave me a soft kiss on my lips. I really hoped it was over soon, so I could be alone with him. I was already longing for his kisses as soon as our lips broke apart. We had known each other for years, had become best friends and suddenly I couldn't get enough of him. It was crazy. What was wrong with me?

"Good luck, honey. I'll see you later."

I nodded. "I'll be waiting at the other side of the stage."

He smiled at me encouragingly, then my name was called and I had to leave.

On stage I was greeted by a enormous applause and Caesar Flickerman took my hand to lead me to my place. I stared at the crowd, my heart nearly jumping out of my chest. I had everyone's attention. Inside me my stomack rebelled and I wanted nothing more than to leave. I didn't gave way to the dominant urge to leave the stage and throw up. Flickerman awaited the end of the applause, smiling all the time, then he started talking. "Ladies and gentlemen, the legendary Katniss Everdeen." Me and legendary? These were two words that didn't belong together in one sentence. "Katniss, to be honest, when you were standing there, volunteering for your sister, that really touched my heart. She is really important to you, isn't she?"

I nodded. "Yes. Prim is everything to me. Well, she and my mum are everything to me."

"Your father died a couple of years ago, right?"

"That's right. So we women have to stick together." I smiled a bit unsecure. God, what was I saying? So we women have to stick together? Couldn't be any more stupid, could it? Well, at least I did my work, now everyone was going to think I was naive, for sure. To my surprise Caesar took my hand and squeezed it.

"Katniss, you're not only a really brave girl, but also absolutely beautiful. What you did with these flames tonight was simply breathtaking." The moderator didn't stop fawning.

...

"Oh, thank you. You liked it?"

This question made him smile. "Of course I liked it. It was amazing."

Suddenly I saw Cinna who was sitting in the first row. Our eyes met and he mad a twirling move with his finger. Shit, time for my show. My voice was slightly shaking while I was talking to Flickerman. "There are other surprises in my dress. Do you want to see them?"

His grin grew bigger and bigger. "Sure. What do you think, folks?" He looked at the crowd and waited for their reaction. They got really excited and started clapping their hands loudly. Caesar motioned me to stand up and show them. I walked a few steps and started twirling.

The faster I twirled the more flames came out of my dress and the audience got wild. They were gasping, shouting my name or simply applauding. Cinna gave me a thumb-up and I knew I had done my job. After this encouragement I started feeling much more confident on stage and chatted with Caesar about the Capitol and the Hunger Games. I had no idea why I felt so save, but after Cinna's gesture it was much easier to talk to Flickerman.

...

After the last question Caesar stood up, took my hand and pulled me on my feet. "Ladies and gentlemen: Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire."

At the end of the stage I turned round and waved to the audience, then I disappeared out of their sight. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. I got it, it was over. The chilly air felt really good and helped me to stay calm. Effie, Haymitch and Cinna were already waiting for me.

"You did great", Haymitch praised me.

Cinna was smiling as well. "You were brilliant."

I grinned at him. "Thank you. But your dress was really stunning."

In this moment Gale appeared on the screen right in front of me. He was also greeted by a huge applause.

"Tell me, Gale. How do you like the Capitol?" Flickerman tried some small-talk at the beginning.

"It's…really different. Nothing you could compare to Twelve. Everything is so big and colourful." Gale smiled at the camera self-confidently.

"Seriously? What do you like the most?"

"Well, your showers are great." With this comment Gale earned a lot of laughing from the audience, of course. As he mentioned the shower I found myself blushing and my heart did a small jump. Yeah, the showers here were really…special. Even on the screen you could see that Gales face got slightly red. Obviously I wasn't the only one thinking of that.

"Have you heard that, folks? He likes our…showers.", Caesar commented, still laughing.

"The boy is hilarious", said Haymitch, but Effie made him shut up in an instance.

...

"Gale, you volunteered at the side of Katniss Everdeen at the Reaping. Is there any special reason for that?" Flickerman looked at Gale with big eyes and the audience got silent. Literally everyone wanted to hear his answer. I stared at the screen, watching him. Everytime I was thinking of Gale my heart started racing and I felt like fainting. What would he say?

"I…I wanted to protect her." That was so cute of him, but when would he finally get the fact that I didn't need protection?

"So Katniss is someone special to you?", Caesar asked with this sugar-sweet smile.

"Yeah, she is." Gale was smiling, too and looked in my direction. I wanted to run back on the stage so badly, just to tell him that he was special to me as well. I had to force myself to stay where I was.

"It must have been really hard to see her volunteering, hm?" Flickerman looked thrilled, first eyeing the crowd and then Gale. You couldn't hear a single sound in the whole area. I smiled at Gale, then I realized that he couldn't see me and continued paying attention to his interview. Couldn't this damn event be over right now?

Gale looked at the camera, suddenly sad and disappointed. He sighed. "That's right. It's really hard to cope with the fact that you could lose the woman you have loved for more than five years."


	10. Memories

Gale's words caused Effie to gasp. "Oh my god, oh my god, what is the boy saying?", she squealed, completely out of control. Well, she was not the only one who was surprised, even I was standing there, dropping my jaw and staring at Gale on the screen. The longer I looked at him the more I started blushing. My heartbeat became faster and faster. In the same second I felt it again: the feeling like you could faint any second. Was he serious about that? I realized that we met each other a little over five years ago. Had he really loved me all the time?

**-Flashback-**

The sun was shining brightly as I made my way to the woods. I tried to get as far away from the Seam as possible. These days I couldn't stand being there for too long. To many memories…

When I reached the place where my father had hidden his bow, I stopped. This was exactly the place where the best moments of my live had begun. Thinking about all these hours I had spent here with him made me sad. It had been three weeks since he died in the mine accident. I didn't cry when they told us. I just couldn't believe that he would never walk through this door again, that he would never lift me up and twirl me around again. He wasn't going to come back. It took me two days to finally show some kind of emotion. It was exactly the moment when they buried his casket. That was the first time I cried and to be honest it was also the last time. Of course I loved my dad and I was really not a cold person, but I had to take care of Prim and mum now, so I couldn't afford to be weak…

I took the bow with one hand and touched him with my fingers, trying to imagine dad's hands. I knew it was weird, but it was the only possibility to be close to him one last time. A strange noise coming from the bushes caught my attention, but all I could see was black hair, disappearing behind the bush. Just wait…

I tiptoed closer, avoiding to make a single sound, then I pounced at the troublemaker. The person lost balance and fell back on the ground, me landing on the top.

"What the hell…?" A boy with dark hair stared at me angrily.

"What are you doing here? That's my hunting ground!" This dude should better not think about hunting here. We were already running low on food, I couldn't afford to loose this area.

"Wait, your _hunting ground? _You are seriously hunting?"

Then I realized what I had just said and shut up immediately. It was forbidden to hunt and if the boy told the peacekeepers I would lose everything. "That's not your business. And now shoot, what are you doing here?"

Suddenly the boy started grinning. "Such a small girl and already so cheeky." He touched his shoulder, massaging it. "And already pretty strong."

"So what? I am eleven. Don't you dare and call me small again, you got me?"

...

He looked at me for a while, still smiling, then I got tired of that. "WHAT?"

"Would you get off me now? I can't move my leg."

"Oh." I had forgotten that I was still half lying half sitting on him, ready to attack. I stood up in an instance and wiped the dirt off my trousers.

The boy was still staring at me. "He, you were at the funeral of the mines men, weren't you?"

"Could be." He started to annoy me.

"God, calm down, okay? I am not doing anything. Do you have a name, ninja-girl?"

"Katniss. Katniss Everdeen", I answered quietly while I was thinking about getting mad at him because of the "ninja-girl."

"Catnip?"

"I said KATNISS."

"Alright. I am Gale. Gale Hawthorne." He offered me his hand.

I looked at him. He seemed to be older than me, but he had the seam look, the olive taint and the dark hair, even the grey eyes. I shook his hand and he smiled again. For some reason it made me smile, too I turned round to leave and I wasn't surprised when he started walking next to me.

"And you really know how to hunt?", asked Gale.

I nodded and grabbed a small stone. I threw it against a tree and shot one of the birds that were flying away. A couple of seconds later it landed on the ground, right next to us.

"Not bad." Gale seemed to be impressed as he picked up the bird, examining it. The arrow had gone right through the middle of its body. "You are really good."

...

It was strange but I slowly started feeling comfortable in his presence. He was different than the other guys I knew from school, he was friendly and already quiet mature although he couldn't be older than fourteen.

"Did you father teach you how to hunt?", he wanted to know while we were walking.

I stopped and scanned the surrounding, then I nodded.

When we came by a big rock I sat down in the grass. Gale looked at me in an apologizing way. "Sorry, but I have to go."

"It's okay."

He was running down the small hill quickly, but after a couple of metres he turned round. "See you soon, Catnip." Then he disappeared.

**-Flashback Ende-**

Five years later I was standing her, watching Gale on the screen. In my opinion he still looked like the thirteen year old boy I attacked in the woods back then. Yeah, he really hadn't changed much. But things between us had changed, a lot, but I had just realized that now. His words caused a warm pleasant feeling to rush through my body. I started paying attention to the interview again and my stomach seemed to be full of butterflies.

The audience was exactly as touched as I was. The whole area was still quiet, even Ceasar Flickerman had troubles finding the right words in this situation. "That was absolutely touching. Thank you, Gale." He stood up and pointed at Gale. "Ladies and gentlemen, Gale Hawthorne."

...

A moment later Gale appeared at the end of the stair which was leading in the hallway where Cinna, Effie, Haymitch and I were waiting.

"Boy, you did great" meant Haymitch and patted his shoulder. But Gale didn't seem to notice him, he walked straight to me. "Katniss, you were…"

I laid my index-finger on his lips. "Thank you, Gale. Thank you."

When I softly touched his lips with mine everything else was unimportant. I didn't care that Effie, Haymitch and Cinna were standing right next to us, staring at us. I didn't care that we could be seen by every camera or by every Capitol worker. The only person that mattered to me right now was Gale…


	11. Final preparations

We broke apart when Haymitch, who was standing behind us, cleared his throat loudly. "Are you done now?"

Gale and I stared at him, really annoyed. "No!", we said at the same time.

Haymitch rolled his eyes and went in the direction of our apartment. I took Gale's hand and followed him, Effie and Cinna. In the corner of my eyes I noticed that Cinna was smiling at us.

"So, I have to go this way," he said at the next corner and waved before he left. We saw him disappearing in the darkness of the hallway, then we took the elevator to our floor.

As soon as we had arrived Gale sat down on the couch and I took the empty space next to him. Effie stopped Haymitch from filling his glass with Gin. "It was a long day, Haymitch, let's give them their beauty-sleep, hm?"

Haymitch growled, but put down the glass and left the room.

"You have a big big day ahead of you, so you'd better get some sleep, right?", Effie warned us before she left the room. After she had closed her door it was silent.

...

"God, I thought that they would never leave us alone", Gale whispered and pulled me closer. We just sat there, cuddled in each other and enjoyed having a couple of moments of privacy. He ran his finger through my hair softly. "I really don't like to admit that, but she's right. We should get some sleep."

"Hm, as if I could sleep now."

With a big grin on his face he stood up and pulled me on my feet. When we had reached our rooms, he softly kissed me on my forehead. "Good night, honey."

"Good night."

Even in my room I could hear him closing his door. Lost in my thoughts I stared at my window, thinking about all that had happened today. I couldn't believe that things had changed so much since I had arrived in the Capitol. The sound of a door brought me back to reality only a couple of seconds later.

"I thought you wanted to go to bed," I asked Gale, who was leaning on my doorframe, watching me, and smiled.

"Screw sleeping." It only took him a few steps to reach me, then he pulled me tight and started kissing me passionately. I kissed him back, burying my hands in his hair.

...

"I think I should leave now," I heard his voice after a few minutes.

"That's a really bad idea, if you ask me," I murmured.

Gale grinned and pulled me with him as he headed to my door. "Dream something beautiful." With these words he left my room and I could just stare after him, confused. He had left so quickly that I wasn't really sure whether he had even come back again. At first I was so annoyed at his behaviour that I wanted to kick something, but as I thought about it I had to admit that he was right. The closer we got now the more painful it would be to say goodbye. And we would have to say goodbye, much sooner than I wanted to. Thinking about losing Gale felt like I had just drunk pure vinegar. It hurt and I sank onto my bed, burying my face in my hands. It was so unfair! Why didn't I realize that I loved him much sooner? We could have left months ago, I could have prepared mum and Prim, I could have run away with them and Gale. Why didn't I realize it sooner?

...

The next day passed without Gale and me speaking a lot. We kept our distance, training together silently, without even looking at each other. Effie and Haymitch observed us at dinner, irritated, but they didn't say a word. To be honest I couldn't say what was more painful: being close to Gale like I had been in the past days or the distance that was between us now. I stood in front of his room more than once that evening, ready to knock on his door, but in the last second I changed my mind and went back to my room. While I was lying on my bed, still wide-awake I thought about our future, but I didn't find a solution.

...

Suddenly I was back in the woods of District Twelve. I had just noticed a deer behind a tree and prepared my bow. As soon as it heard me shooting the deer made a quick move but I had definitely hit it. I went to the tree to get it, but there was no deer. Instead of the deer Gale was laying on the ground with my arrow in his chest and…lifeless.

"Gale!", I screamed and ran to him, but he didn't move, not matter how hard I shook him. When I touched his cheek with my fingers, they left a red track and I froze completely shocked when I realized that it was Gale's blood that was running down my hands…

I woke up, screaming loudly. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and freed myself from the warm blanket. It took me quite a while to calm down again. It had been just a dream, but it was so realistic. That was exactly what I would have to face in a couple of days. My heart was still racing when I tiptoed through the hallway and opened Gale's door quietly. I was really relieved when I saw him, peacefully sleeping on his bed. It had been just a really bad nightmare. I watched him for a couple of minutes, then I left and wanted to close the door.

"Katniss?"

"Hey. Sorry, I didn't want to wake you."

Gale turned on the light and looked at me worriedly. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah. I just had a nightmare and I couldn't sleep anymore", I answered.

He moved closer to the wall. "Come."

...

I hesitated for a moment, causing Gale to smile. "Are you suddenly afraid of me?"

"Of course not." I crawled under his blanket, cuddling up to him tightly. It reminded me of the past. I had always crawled under my parent's blanket after a bad nightmare. It really felt the same, only that it was Gale now. For a second I played with the thought to stand up again, but then I changed my mind. Why should I leave again if it didn't bother him. It was also one of the last chances to be together, before… I quickly blocked that thought.

"What happened in your dream?"

I started shaking at the thought of my nightmare and I wasn't able to stop it this time, no matter how hard I tried. Gale seemed to notice, because he wrapped his arm around me immediately.

"I….I shot a deer, but in the end you were the deer", I told him quietly.

"Oh…"

Although I had just decided not to ask this question I simply had to know it. "Gale?"

"Hm?"

"We have to face the fact that only one of us is coming out of the arena. What if we are the only ones left at the end? I can't hurt you."

"I know, Catnip. I could never hurt you as well. But there are so many things we can't predict, so we have to wait and see, as much as I hate it."

"Great." I buried my head in his pillow.

His hand moved down my arm, causing my skin to form goosebumps.

"We discussed that about a hundred times, but no matter how hard we try, we won't find a solution. Why don't we just enjoy the time we have left until the Games begin?"

"Okay." Before Gale had kissed me for the first time, there was just one winner for me: him. But now we were a lot closer so I had to rethink my strategy. Of course I could never kill him but could I really expect him to kill me when we were the last two tributes? I had never really thought about that, but what about him?

...

When I had been sad as a child my father had always started singing. This might sound strange, but I could swear that even the birds had stopped twittering as soon as they heard his voice. I wasn't even half as good as him, but after his death I had always sung to Prim at night when she hadn't been able to sleep. Now my own thought kept me from falling asleep and without really noticing it I started humming quietly. It was one of my favourite melodies and it helped me to calm down.

...

Gale hadn't said a word the whole time. Suddenly his arm got heavier and heavier and I realized that he had finally fallen asleep…


	12. Countdown

When I woke up on the next morning Gale had already gotten up. With sleepy eyes I went to the bathroom and got ready before I finally joined Effie, Haymitch and Gale for breakfast.

While we were eating Haymitch started talking, "So guys, you have exactly one day to prepare for the private session tomorrow, so you'd better work hard. We'll have a meeting tonight to discuss the next steps. In the private session you show the Gamemakers what you can and they will give you points later. The more points the better the chances to get sponsors, you got me?"

Gale and I nodded.

"Fine, then get ready for the last training. Trinket will bring you downstairs later."

I walked back to my room to get my jacket, but then a small white packet caught my attention. It was the token Madge gave me right before I left District Twelve. I opened it, smiling. A wave of melancholy rushed through my body as I saw the golden pin. I turned it in my hands and looked at the golden bird. It was a mockingjay. My father had shown me a picture of it in one of his books, but I had just seen it in the woods once.

"Thank you, Madge", I thought and put the pin on my T-shirt.

...

"Are you ready, darling?" Effies jarring voice echoed through the hallway.

"Coming!", I shouted back, touched the pin one last time and left the room. Like yesterday Effie brought us to the trainings center.

"So…let's go", Gale meant and opened the door.

As soon as we had entered the room everyone turned his head towards us. Everyone watched me intensively and I got an unpleasant feeling. I swallowed hard.

"Do they have to stare at me like that?", I whispered to Gale.

"Don't worry, they are rather staring at me."

"What? You mean, because of your interview with Flickerman? But that was two days ago."

"No idea. Maybe they have just seen it yesterday, but what do I know." He pointed at the station with the knives. "Wanna start there?"

"Sure."

To my surprise Gale laid his arm on my shoulders. "Alright then."

I noticed that the girl with the foxface and Glimmer, the girl from District One started whispering, still observing us. There was nothing better than gossip, right? In the meantime Gale had started throwing his knives, but he was actually quite bad at that. When he turned round he winked at me and handed me the knives. I nodded slightly. Obviously it wasn't my best day as well…

...

"Already excited for tomorrow?" Damn, I hadn't noticed that Cato had joined us.

"Not really. What about you?"

"Well, if I see something like that", he pointed at the knives, "I don't think I have something to be afraid of."

Oh…wow. Who did he think he is? Being a freaking career doesn't give him the right to be an asshole. He wasn't even something special.

Gale gave him a big fake smile. "Well, it's obviously not my day."

"Let's hope that this doesn't last until tomorrow." Cato looked at me with a stern glance and walked back to the others.

"Nice guy, hm?" Gale commented sarcastically and continued to throw knives. We really held back at the other stations at well, earning gloating glances from Cato and the other careers. I didn't really care, because Gale loving glances made up for that.

...

After the training we had our meeting with Haymitch. We discussed our strategy for the private session and he gave us – you wouldn't believe it – helpful pieces of advice for the arena. "As well as I know this stupid bunch of morons, there will most likely be a bow and a couple of knives near the cornucopia."

My face lit up at once as he mentioned the bow. I always felt much safer with a bow in my hand. Unfortunately all my hopes were destroyed in an instance.

"Don't go for the weapons, alright? There will be a bloodbath at the cornucopia, so you turn round and run away as fast as possible, you got me?"

"But…", I wanted to protest, but Haymitch cut me off.

"Don't even think about it. Keep your hands off the weapons. All you do is run."

"Alright," Gale looked at me reassuringly. He knew me too well to expect me not to go for the bow.

"I see that you are finally getting how this all works. As soon as you hear the signal to start you ran as fast as possible and try to find water. Then we'll see."

...

Even during lunch Haymitch always reminded us of that. We quickly got tired of it and after the twentieth time we didn't pay attention anymore. But then he said something that swept me off my feet.

"Boy, your interview with Flickerman was brilliant and everyone only sees the "star-crossed lovers" who are separated so brutally. Play that in the arena and the sponsors will queue up just to be part of your story." He joyfully chewed on a piece of chicken.

Within a second a knife landed between his fingers, missing the skin only by millimetres. I looked at him with hatred in my eyes. Was he out of his mind? He had seen with his own eyes that there was something between Gale and me, so why the hell did he have to sell that to these damn sponsors? Gale was the only one I had right now and the thought of losing him scared me to death, so what did this arrogant asshole think? We should PLAY the "star-crossed lovers"? He had no idea how I really felt.

...

Effie let out a sharp cry while Gale and Haymitch were looking at me, completely shocked.

My whole body was shaking with anger as I pulled the knife out of the table.

"Don't you dare say something like that again or you can say goodbye to the last bit of you manhood." I threat him with a small wave with the knife, put it on my plate and left the room. I was fed up. I was so fed up with being used by these wicked Capitol-members. I wasn't a damn piece of meat that you could feed the wolves.

...

I changed into my nightclothes and tried to make myself as comfortable as possible. It was just one day until Gale and I had to go into the arena. In two days we could already be dead…

In this moment I heard someone knocking on my door and Gale entered the room. It was hard to read his expression, but he seemed tense.

"Are…are you very angry with me?", I asked cautiously.

"One question, okay?"

This didn't sound too well. I didn't want Gale to be angry with me, but I just couldn't ignore Haymitch's stupid comment.

I sighed, waiting for the big argument. "Alright, shoot."

Suddenly his expression softened and he grinned at me. "Can I help you with killing Haymitch?"

Wow, I expected everything but definitely not this. I grinned at him as well, relieved that he wasn't angry with me.

"Sorry, but I don't want to share the pleasure."

"Damn, and I have already started to sharpen my knives."

...

Although I knew that this situation was just bizarre I had so laugh. I couldn't remember that I had ever laughed so much and for one little moment it felt like the fetters that had kept me from breathing during the last days had finally been blasted…

* * *

**Hi! Thank you for all the reviews! That's awesome. Maybe I can finish the next chapter until tomorrow, so I hope you'll check and review again! You are great!**

** xxx mocca93**


	13. The last day

The last day before the Hunger Games started for me in Gale's arms. After I had stopped laughing yesterday he had crawled into my bed, pulling me tight. I had enjoyed lying next to him so much that I never wanted to get up again. This was one the things I was going to miss so much in the arena.

"Morning.", Gale mumbled, still half asleep and ran his fingers through his tousled hair.

"Morning."

"Already time to get up?"

"I am afraid so", I replied quietly.

He buried his face in my hair. "Do you want to get up?"

"No, not at all."

"Fine, neither do I." Gale seemed to be pleased. "Then we can stay in bed."

"That would be great, but today is our private session with the Gamemakers, remember?"

"So what? If we don't go they have nothing they can judge."

Gale's suggestion was more than tempting, but a good score meant sponsors and they were really important in the arena.

I sighed and wanted to get up, but Gale hold me back. "Where are you going, honey? We still have a couple of minutes left."

"Do you want Effie or Haymitch to come in?"

Gale grinned. "Let them come. Trust me, I am in advantage with my insider-knowledge."

"Really?" I took the bottle of water I had put next to my bed the night before. "What kind of insider-knowledge?"

"Believe it or not, but we are definitely not the only ones sharing one bed."

...

As soon as he had said that I started coughing and dropped the bottle. What did he just say? I must have misunderstood him, there was no other explanation. I quickly wiped the water drop off my chin and faced Gale, still surprised. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I am not."

"Effie and Haymitch?"

"Yeah. It seems like they fit together quite well." He got out of the bed and picked up the bottle that was still rolling around on the floor, spreading the water.

"Not to be mean, but EFFIE and HAYMITCH?"

Gale rolled his eyes. "I just told you so, didn't I?"

"How do you...", I still couldn't believe it.

"I wanted to get some water last night and I heard them."

"Okay, but how can you be sure that it was Effie and Haymitch?"

Gale started blushing und stared at the floor. "Trust me, you really don't want to know that."

Oh my god…

...

During breakfast I couldn't help but stare at them the whole time. No, that couldn't be true… Well, Effie was more than just strange and Haymitch was probably just crazy, but the two of them together…no way.

Gale nudged me under the table and I winced. I stared at him quizzically and mouthed "Ouch!", but that just caused him to turn to his plate again, grinning.

"So, are you guys ready for your private session?", asked Haymitch after a while.

"I think so", I replied and tried to get rid of the pictures running through my mind. Disgusted, I pushed the plate away from me. Damn, Gale should really stop telling me everything.

"You don't like your food, darling?", Effie wanted to know and pointed at my nearly full plate.

"Sure, I am just not hungry." I really hoped that Effie wouldn't get suspicious. Obviously not, because she started patting my hand softly. Okay, what was that?

"Katniss, you really don't need to worry about the private session. I am sure you will do great!"

Sure, as if I would be afraid of that stupid PRIVATE SESSION. Hello, I have to go into the ARENA tomorrow!

"Ähm, thank you Effie", I thanked her and stood up. "I am getting ready."

Effie smiled at me. "Of course, darling. We have to leave in ten minutes anyway."

In the bathroom I leaned against the door and inhaled deeply. "Please, don't let me screw up!", I begged and started cooling my face with water. In the end I put the mockingjay-pin on my T-shirt, put on my jacket and focussed on the private session. I had to be good, I just had to.

...

Minutes later Effie and Haymitch brought us to a small room that was connected with the training center. During our training I had noticed that there was some kind of balcony. I guessed that the Gamemakers would be up there, observing us, while we were showing them our skills.

"So, there is only one task today: Show them what you can do and impress them. They must not forget your, right?", Haymitch said and seemed satisfied when we nodded.

"Fine, then I wish you good luck!" He patted Gale's shoulder and Effie hugged me.

"Good luck, kids. We'll meet you afterwards in our apartment."

Shortly after they had left, Gale's name was called. He smiled at me encouragingly and entered the big training room. My thoughts were with Gale all the time and I wondered what he would show the Gamemakers. We didn't have time to talk about that, but I guessed that he would do something with knives, snares or this heavy ball. My heart started racing when my name was finally called. I took a deep breath and looked at my pin. "Make me lucky", I whispered and entered the room.

...

Gale must have left the room through another door because I couldn't see him. I wished he would be here now. How did he do?

My hands were shaking when I took the bow and strained it, but I was so nervous that I couldn't shoot straight and missed the target. Damn, that was just great! I took a second arrow and hoped that I would hit the target this time. My heart seemed to jump out of my chest and I felt like throwing up. "Focus, Katniss!", I thought and tried to be as calm as possible. There was no use in worrying and if I really wanted to get me and Gale out of the arena I had to be tough now.

With this thought in my head I strained the bow once more and shot. This time I hit the target straight in the middle. I glanced at the Gamemakers, but they didn't seem to pay attention. They were chatting and loading food on their plates. That couldn't be true! I resisted the urge to insult them and thought about a way to get their attention.

"Impress them!" Haymitch's voice echoed through my mind and suddenly I noticed the red apple in the mouth of a grilled pig. Seconds later he landed at the wall, pierced by my arrow. Everyone was staring at me, but I finally had their attention.

"Thank you for your consideration!", I said, bowed shortly and left the room. Then I realised what I had just done. How could I have been so stupid? What if they saw an attack in my performance? I couldn't believe that I had been so stupid, nearly shooting at the Gamemakers. Damn, where the hell had I gotten myself into?

...

I really hoped that Gale had done well, everything else meant that we were as good as dead. I screwed up, I so screwed up…

As soon as I had opened the door to our apartment Effie grabbed my hand and pulled me with her. "How could you? You can't shoot at the Gamemakers of the Hunger Games! ARE YOU EVEN AWARE OF WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?" Every piece of friendliness seemed to be blown away and I really owed Cinna that she didn't yell at me any longer.

"Effie, calm down. It was really…impressive." He looked at me reassuringly. Then I noticed Gale, wo was sitting on the sofa with a wide grin on his face. I sat down next to him and wanted to talk to him, when…

"IMPRESSIVE? Cinna, she nearly shot the Gamemakers! That's not impressive! This are bad manners and they won't tolerate it!", Effie squealed hysterically.

"Shut up, Trinket, yeah?" Haymitch had entered the room and sat down on a chair in front of me. "So you shot at an apple near the Gamemaker's heads and said…Thank you for your consideration?"

I nodded, but I didn't dare look him in the eyes. "I am sorry, I didn't think about it."

"You ARE SORRY?"

I nodded again and hoped that the damage wouldn't be to big. With a queasy feeling I awaited his reaction, waiting for the big argument, but to my surprise he burst out laughing.

"Genius. Freaking genius", he said and couldn't stop laughing. "Thank you for you consideration! God, I've never heard something like that. Simply brilliant!"

Wait, he liked it? He even approved? I really didn't see that coming…


	14. Night of surprises

Effie tried to conceal her anger about Haymitch encouraging me in my bad manners, but she didn't really do a good job.

I excused me for a moment and went to my room where I changed into something more comfortable. My pin was still laying on the little table next to my bed and I looked at it for a moment. I took it in my hands once again and sat down on my bed. Haymitch had told me that I had done really great, that I had been unbelievably lucky today, but this didn't calm me at all. Suddenly my thoughts were with Madge. I hoped she was fine. I still wondered why she had given me the pin. We had often had lunch together at school, but he had hardly ever talked. But even when I knew only a few things about her, Madge was the girl I would call my friend.

...

"So here you are." Gale closed the door behind him and looked at the token. "Nice. Where did you get it?"

"Madge gave it to me as a present." I put it back on the table. "How did do you in your private session?"

"I think it was okay. But your show was really badass", Gale answered, wide grinning.

"You could already see it?"

"Yeah, obviously they broadcasted it live. Effie got completely crazy."

Oh yeah, I noticed that…

"I guess we should go back, Haymitch already wanted to know where you are", he said after a while and stood up. I followed him and we joined the others. Effie seemed to have calmed down in the meantime, because she smiled as she noticed us. "They are showing the scores in two hours."

That was just plain torture. I was so nervous that I wanted to know the scores right now. Why did I have to wait for two hours? It was hard to bear…

...

Somehow the time passed and when it was finally time for our scores I stared at the screen and clenched my hands to fists so hard that the knuckles beneath my fingers turned white. Gale was sitting next to me, completely relaxed. God, how could he be so calm right now? In this second they were showing the score for the first tribute. Cato was the third and scored a 10. The next tribute who caught my attention was the little girl who had stolen the knives of the careers. Her name was Rue and as when the showed her score I had to grin. A seven appeared on the screen. Really not bad.

"And now the score for Gale Hawthorne, District Twelve." Everyone in this room was staring at the screen, not wanting to miss a single second. You could see his picture, then a white 9 showed up.

"Fantastic! A nine!", I screamed, pressing a kiss on his forehead. I couldn't believe he had described his session with "okay". He must have been really impressive, because you had to be nearly brilliant to score a 9. The Gamemakers don't give a score like that for no reason. I looked at him, beaming with pride.

"Congrats, boy," Haymitch said and Cinna patted his shoulder appreciative.

...

"Now shut up, it's Katniss' turn", Effie squealed in excitement and everyone continued paying attention to the scores.

"Katniss Everdeen, District 12", you could hear the voice of the commentator again.

I didn't dare to look at the screen. If the Gamemakers interpreted my behaviour as a threat or an attack, I was as good as dead. "Please, don't let it be too bad." I begged while I was awaiting my score, slightly shaking. There were two digits, two 1. WHAT? Eleven points? Did I see that right? How the hell could I have got eleven points? For a moment you couldn't hear a single sound in the whole room then everyone started cheering. Gale was the first to hug me. "Well done, honey. I am so proud of you!", he whispered in my ear, causing the butterflies in my stomach to start flying.

"Eleven points?", I asked, still completely shocked. That could only be a sick joke.

"I told you that it was fucking genius", Haymitch said, but it was Cinna who hugged me.

"I knew you would be great." I smiled at him thankfully.

...

Everyone was in such a good mood that the viewing of the scores turned into a small party. After a while I noticed that Haymitch was keeping his distance, taking a long sip out of his glass. Then he came to me and pulled me away.

"You did great today."

"Thank you, but it's rather your merit", I answered him modestly.

He shook his head. "No, it's not, you did that all on your own. Listen, you are good and you can win this thing. I will move my ass and get the two of you good sponsors."

His words surprised me, but it touched me even more when me motioned at his glass. "I'll try to stay sober. For you."

"Thank you." Without even thinking I wrapped my arms around his neck and he patted my back awkwardly.

"It's okay, sweetheart."

...

Later that evening Effie, Haymitch, Gale and I were having dinner together, but before dessert was served, Gale stood up. "Excuse me, but I need to settle something. Won't take me too long." With these words he left the apartment.

At first I didn't even think about that, but when he hadn't come back an hour later I started worrying and decided to start looking for him.

I ran through the hallways for a while, but I couldn't find Gale. Just when I reached the room where we had met Cinna a couple of days earlier I saw him. He seemed to be chatting with Octavia, but suddenly she pulled him in a tight hug. To my dismay Gale returned this gesture. I froze right where I was standing and an unknown feeling was rushing through my body. It hurt seeing him with her. He had just told me how proud he was of me, why was he meeting Octavia then? When I saw him smiling at her, giving her that kind of smile he usually only gave me, my feet didn't seem able to carry me anymore. With all the force I could bring up I suppressed the tears, turned round and ran…


	15. Let the Games begin

When Gale entered my room quietly that night I pretended to be asleep. I didn't want to look him in the eyes or even talk to him. I had never thought he would do something like that. It hurt so much that I was so wrong about him.

"Honey, are you still awake?" He had lain down next to me in the meantime and although it was completely dark I knew he was looking at me.

I got fed up when he laid his arm around me, kissing me softly on the cheek. "Are you crazy?", I hissed at him.

"Hey, Katniss, what's wrong?"

"LEAVE! NOW!" I stood up and opened the door for him. Gale was still sitting on my bed, giving me a confused look.

"Talk to me, okay? What's wrong?" He reached me with a couple of steps and took my hands. I freed myself from his grip angrily and started beating him with my fists. I finally wanted to get rid of my anger and beat him as hard as possible. It took Gale just a couple of seconds to grab my hands again, forcing me to stop my attack.

"Would you talk to me now?"

"I saw you", I answered him, my voice still bitter and angry.

"What? You mean you saw me and Octavia?"

"Damn you Gale, you are such an…" I couldn't think of a word that was insulting enough.

...

"Catnip, I didn't go to Octavia because I like her", Gale said with a small smile on his lips.

"You didn't?"

"No, of course not. Do you really think I could be such an jerk?" He took my hand again and started caressing it with his thumb.

"But why did you meet her downstairs?"

"I just had to settle something. Listen, I really can't tell you more, but you have to trust me, okay?"

God, I felt like a complete freak. I already got crazy as soon as I saw him with another girl. I really wanted the floor to open, letting me disappear in a huge hole. I had seriously just punched Gale, the boy who meant the most to me.

"I am sorry", I whispered and laid my head on his shoulder.

"So we are good again?", Gale asked.

I just pulled him closer and kissed him. As soon as I felt his lips on mine, every bit of anger was gone and our whole argument seemed irrelevant. He moved his hands to my waist and pulled me as tight as possible.

"I guess that's a **_yes_**, then, hm?"

I nodded and he sat down on the bed again. I still felt bad for my behaviour. "Gale, I am really sorry. I didn't want to punch you."

He smiled at me. "Just forget it, okay? You are actually really cute when you are jealous." He pulled me on the bed.

"Don't go too far, alright?"

"Would never dare to." Gale wrapped his arm around me and I used the chance to move closer to him. "But if we always end our arguments like that we should really fight more often", he continued.

I didn't even need to look at him to know that he was having a huge grin on his face. "Hm, you would like that."

"Hell yes."

I was quiet for a while, then I asked cautiously, "Gale?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

"Love you too, Catnip."

...

The next morning I was so excited that I couldn't swallow one bite of food. Effie tried to distract us, but all I could think about was the arena.

"Where is Haymitch, by the way?", Gale asked and pointed at the empty seat next to Effie.

"He has to settle something. But he wants me to wish you luck."

"We don't see him before the Games start?", I wanted to know, surprised.

Effie shook her head. "I don't think so. He is really busy."

It felt really strange to not see Haymitch anymore. Yesterday he hadn't said a word about that, he hadn't even said goodbye. I thought about my last moment with him. We had had dinner together and he had smiled at me encouragingly. Had he already known that we wouldn't see each other today?

...

Later Effie brought us to a hallway that was leading into different rooms. These rooms were our access to the arena. We had had to leave all our stuff in our apartment because personal things were forbidden in the arena. I had looked for my pin before we had left, but I didn't find it. I was sure that I had seen it on the small table next to my bed the night before, but there was no pin. Neither Gale nor Effie knew where my token was. That left only Haymitch, but why should he take my pin?

When we reached the hallway two peacekeepers were already waiting for us.

"So, I guess it's time to say goodbye for now.", Effie said und hugged both of us. She wished us luck and disappeared in the dark hallway again. The peacekeepers came closer to us.

Wait? We weren't allowed to go into the arena together? Obviously not, because Gale pulled me tight. "Listen, honey. As soon as you hear the signal to start, you run away, okay? I will grab one of the backpacks and follow you then."

"WHAT? You can't be serious about that!", I screamed, terrified. He seriously planned on running right into the bloodbath? Right into the arms of Cato and the others? "No! Gale, they are going to attack you and…" I couldn't finish my sentence.

"Don't worry, I am fast. Just head south and start looking for water and some shelter, make a bow. I'll find you."

How could he be so calm? Sure, he was fast but no one knew Cato's strengths. "Gale, please, don't do that", I begged desperately, my voice shaking.

...

He kissed me one last time, in a way he had never kissed me before. I clang to him. I knew that I couldn't stop him from turning his purposes into action, but I worried about him so much. I couldn't bear the thought of him running into the bloodbath. At least not alone…

"Okay, if you really need this backpack, I will come with you."

He shook his head and looked at me sternly. "No way. You start running and try to find some water and a place to hide, you got me?"

I pursed my lips. I would come with him, whether he liked it or not. If we were running together we could at least protect each other.

"Don't even think about it, Katniss! It's much safer if I am doing this on my own", Gale said although I hadn't even expressed my thought. Safer? SAFER? Was he really talking about safety?

"Katniss, do you understand me? You run away as fast as you can!"

I didn't have time to answer him, because the peacekeepers grabbed our arms and yanked us apart, right in opposite directions.

"Wait!", I yelled and tried to break free. I had to talk to Gale! Damn, let me go!

"Stop moving!", the peacekeeper yelled at me and I gave up. I didn't have a chance to get rid of him.

"Remember, I love you!", Gale shouted, then they closed the door behind him.

...

I was pushed into a room as well and they closed the door. I hammered at the door like crazy and yelled. I wanted to get out of here!

Two hands grabbed my waist from behind, pulling me away from the door.

"Katniss, Katniss, calm down." Cinna?

I turned round and faced him.

"Shhh, calm down, okay?", he soothed me and clasped me in his arms.

"I want to see Gale." I sobbed at his shoulder.

"I am sorry, but you have to enter the arena in two minutes. You will see him there."

I wiped the tears off my cheek, but suddenly I felt dizzy.

"Come, sit down." Cinna led me to a chair and helped me with my jacket. My breathing was unsteady and it was hard not to faint. Why did everyone – except Cinna – have to leave me? I felt weak and…alone.

"Katniss?" Cinna opened my jacket a bit and showed me a golden object. My heart jumped a little as I recognized my mockingjay pin.

"Hide it well, okay?"

I nodded. "Thank you. Where did you get that?"

"Octavia gave it to me."

Octavia? How did she get my…Of course, Gale mast have given it to her yesterday. I immediately remembered our fight and felt bad again. He was so cute.

...

"Listen, you have to go now, okay?" Slowly Cinna pulled me on my feet and led me to some kind of elevator. A deep voice started counting. **"Ten."**

"Cinna, I can't do this!", I whispered in panic and clang to his arm. I didn't want to go, I didn't want to say goodbye to Cinna and I didn't want to worry about Gale. It drove me crazy.

**"Nine."**

"Of course you can do it." He looked at me encouragingly.

**"Eight."**

I hugged him quickly. "Thank you!"

**"Seven."**

"Trust me, you will be great." He drove his hand through my hair. His last try to calm me.

**"Six."**

"What makes you so sure about that?" Why did everyone believe in me so much? Why did they think I would be great? I'd never learned to use a knife in a fight, I wasn't strong enough to win a fight against the careers, the only thing I could do was hunting.

**"Five."**

"Believe me, honey, I am not allowed to bet, but If I was, my money would be on you!"

**"Four."**

Cinna led me into the elevator and closed the door. I stared at him, completely frightened. No, it was too soon!

**"Three."**

"CINNA!", I screamed, but the door was so thick that he couldn't hear me. He smiled at me one last time and gave me a thumb-up, then he turned round.

**"Two."**

I knocked at the glass-door and Cinna turned round again. "Thank you!", I mouthed and waved at him. I would miss him so much, more than anyone else in the Capitol. I was so glad that I had the chance to meet him, he was just great! I felt empty as I looked at him one last time. It was not the same kind of emptiness as I had felt while I was saying goodbye to Gale, but it hurt exactly as much.

**"One."**

He waved at me, too and made a soothing gesture with his hand.

**"Zero."**

Suddenly the elevator started moving and brought me upstairs, right into my personal hell…


	16. Going into the arena (Gale's POV)

"Remember, I love you!", I shouted to Katniss before the peacekeeper closed the door behind me. I wasn't sure weather she had heard me, but I wanted her to know how much she meant to me…

In my mind I could still hear her begging not to run into the bloodbath. In my whole life I've never felt so miserable, but the thought of having her at my side while I was getting the backpack was even worse than the guilt I felt. At first I had thought that I hadn't heard right, but she had seriously told me that she would come with me. Katniss was brave, sometimes even tougher than I was, but that didn't keep me from worrying about her at all.

"Are you ready?" A deep voice brought me back to reality. Could you ever be ready for something like the Hunger Games? Was I really ready to fight for our lives with all means? Was I really ready to kill for her…for us?

"Yes", I mumbled and turned round. I just had to be ready and even if I wasn't, there was no way out. An old man looked at me, his eyes full of pity.

"Good luck."

I gave him a short nod. "Thank you. I am going to need it."

He brought me to the elevator that was supposed to bring me into the arena. When he opened the door another deep voice started with the countdown. Ten seconds…

...

I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall, thinking about my family and Katniss.

_It was already late at night and I was sitting at the old table in our kitchen, studying. Suddenly something touched my leg and when I looked down I saw Posy who was pulling at the hem of my shirt._

_"Hi sweetie, why aren't you in bed yet, hm?" I asked and pulled her on my lap._

_She wrapped her arms around my neck and cuddled up to me. "Can't sleep. Can you tell me a fairytale?"_

_I sighed. Posy was really into unicorns and princesses these days. I mean, she was really cute, but I had no idea what was so fascinating about unicorns._

_"Okay, why don't you get one of your books and I am gonna read a bit with you, okay?"_

_Her face lit up at once and she placed a wet kiss on my cheek. "It's on the couch."_

_I wrapped my arms around her and stood up. I sat down on the couch with Posy on my lap and took the book. After a while her head that was resting on my shoulder got heavy and I noticed that she had fallen asleep. I kissed her forehead and removed one of her curls from her face. "Good night, little angel." I grabbed the blanket from the other side of the couch and covered us with it before I slowly fell asleep, my arms wrapped around my little sister protectively._

Suddenly Posy's face disappeared and I saw Katniss in front of me. Her screams echoed in my mind and I wished that I could have hugged her once more, telling her that we were going to be alright. I missed her. I missed her kisses, her closeness, yeah, I even missed the angry glance she gave me yesterday. Had she seriously thought that I could be interested in someone like Octavia?

...

The countdown had reached **five **in the meantime and I noticed that the old man was smiling at me encouragingly. I hesitated for a moment before I replied his gesture. I had four seconds until I had to enter the arena. In four seconds the hardest fight of my life would begin and in four seconds I would see Katniss again. Even if I was glad that I would see her soon I was also really worried about her. I had always suppressed this thought but what if we were really the only ones left in the end? The rules said that there could only be one winner, but if it came down to the two of us that was impossible. We couldn't harm each other, let alone kill each other.

...

"Two!", the voice that was counting the seconds came through my thoughts. I breathed in deeply and tried to focus on my strengths. I was going to need them.

"One!"

"Please, let us be alright!", I begged and clung to the handle of the elevator.

"Happy Hunger Games… and may the odds be ever in your favour." I shrugged as I noticed what I was mumbling. Where the hell did that come from? I tried to forget that immediately. The last thing I could need right now was the Capitol's slogan controlling my thoughts.

"Zero."

My heart started racing as the elevator began moving upwards. The 74th Hunger Games had officially begun…


	17. Friends and enemies

A garishly light blinded me as the elevator stopped. I scanned my surrounding, still blinking and noticed the other tributes that were standing on their platforms, most of them eager to start. Rue was standing two platforms away from me and to her left was…Gale. He seemed to be exactly as tense as I was, but when our eyes met he smiled at me. For a moment we just looked us in the eyes, then we heard the signal to start.

...

I ran into the nearby woods as fast as I could, forcing myself not to look back. I couldn't look at Gale while he was running towards the cornucopia, right into the arms of Cato and the other careers. I just looked round briefly, making sure that no one was following me, but I was alone so I kept running through the woods. After a while I had to stop for a moment to catch my breath. During my escape I had completely lost control of time and I couldn't say for how long I had been running. The boom of the canon echoed through the usually quiet woods and announced the death of a tribute. My heart was racing as I counted the canons, praying that Gale was alright. Nine booms. More than a third of the tributes hadn't survived the first hours. Please, don't let it be Gale, I kept murmuring, looking at the pictures that appeared at the sky.

They showed the girl from District Ten and my heart started hammering. I was so terrified that I had forgotten to count the fallen tributes. The pictures disappeared and relief was rushing through my body. Gale was alive and if everything had been okay he would be on his way. Now he only had to find me.

...

A couple of minutes later I started walking again, but my thoughts were with Gale all the time. I knew that I would just be able to breath normally when he was at my side again. My mood lit up at once when I saw the small river right in front of me. The cool water on my cheek seemed to boil away, but it was good to feel something cold on my skin. I took a sip of water and scanned the surrounding for some kind of shelter, but I couldn't find anything. While I was walking along the river I found a branch and started to make a bow. It wasn't even half as good as the one my father had made, but it was okay.

...

The position of the sun told me that it had to be late afternoon. Where the heck was Gale? What if he was hurt, lying somewhere in the woods, exposed to everyone? This fear took control over me and the horrifying pictures that were running through my mind didn't let me feel better as well. I ran along the river restlessly, looking for a sign of Gale, but he was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly I heard the twitter of a bird. It came out of nothing, but at least it was something familiar. I had often heard this sound in the woods of District Twelve, it was a mockingjay. It twittered three times, then it was silent again. My father had shown me how to imitate a mockingjay, but it took me a few tries to get it right. The mockingjay twittered a reply and I noticed that it was a little closer than before. I twittered again and tried to find one of the birds, but this time I didn't get a reply. Instead there was a soft voice, coming from a person right behind me.

"Hi there, little mockingjay."

"GALE!" I ran to the dark-haired boy and flinged myself into his arms. "God, I was so worried about you!"

"Same here. But it was alright." He wasn't hurt and he showed me the backback, a huge grin on his face. "Was definitely worth the risk."

"I hope so. But don't drive me crazy again, okay?"

"Promise", meant Gale and made sure that I wasn't hurt either. "Have you already found shelter?"

I shook my head. "No, unfortunately not."

He took my hand. "Okay, let's go then."

"Wait. What's in the backpack, by the way?", I wanted to know and looked at the thing in Gale's hand.

Gale sat down on a tree trunk and opened it. "A bottle of water, a rope, a blanket and…" He rummaged in one of the small pockets, "a small knife."

"Perfect! Exactly what I needed." I pointed at my bow. "I really need some arrows."

"Fine, then I will take care of dinner and you will make arrows, 'kay?"

"Sounds good, but don't go too far."

"Don't worry, I'll stay close."

...

I walked a couple of metres beside him, looking for some good branches for my arrows, then we took different directions. It took me quite a while to collect everything I needed for the arrows, but then I put everything in the backpack really satisfied and started looking for Gale. After a while I found a big leaf with a lot of supplies on it, so Gale couldn't be too far away. My eyes fell on the small berries Gale had put on the leaf. I bent down to eat one of them. Before I took them in my mouth I had a closer look at them and froze. I knew these berries. They were called nightlocks and they were highly poisonous…

"Gale!", I screamed desperately, but in this moment I heard the canon. No, that couldn't be…not Gale! I ran further, still yelling his name. I had to find him. There was somebody lying on the ground, just a couple of metres away from me. Damn, Gale knew the woods by heart, why did he eat these berries? Tears were running down my cheek as I got closer to the person on the ground.

...

"Honey, would you please stop screaming now? The others could hear you." I turned round, frightened and was suddenly facing Gale.

In the whole five years I had known him I had never been so happy to see him, not even once. "Damn you, Gale, you scared me to death. I thought you were dead!" My heartbeat started to normalize again and pulled him down on the collar of his shirt to kiss him. Then I heard a quiet sound.

"What is this?", I whispered to Gale.

"Maybe the cameras."

"Goodbye, privacy!" We slowly broke apart and I remembered that I still didn't know who the dead person was. I looked at the tribute on the ground. It was the District Nine girl.

"Did she eat the berries?"

Gale shrugged. "I guess so. She must have observed me."

I didn't have the chance to ask another question because there was a crackle in the bushes.

...

Within a second I had prepared my bow, ready to attack. Gale softly pushed me behind him. "I'll handle this. Cover my back."

I aimed at the direction the sound had come from and nodded. Gale tiptoed closer, separating the bushes abruptly. When I noticed the shaking person who had hidden in the bushes, I eased the grip at my bow.

"Rue?"

"Please, don't hurt me. I just wanted to go to the river." She looked at me, then at Gale and back, her eyes full of fear.

"Do you think we can trust her?", Gale asked quietly. I nodded. I felt like it were her eyes that were staring at me pleadingly and her shaky hand that was about to take mine. Prim.

"Are you alone?" Gale fixated Rue with his eyes and she nodded quickly.

Gale went a couple of steps backwards and I lowered my bow at the same time.

I couldn't hurt her, exactly like I could never hurt Prim…

"I could help you!", Rue said quietly while she was still looking at us rather scared.

Gale gave her a quizzical look, then she started smiling.

"Come with me."


	18. Thunderstorm

Gale and I exchanged a short glance, then we collected our supplies and followed her. We were extraordinarily careful this time, although we were sure that we could trust her. But the other tributes could find us and the chance that they were much closer than we thought was really big.

"Do you have an idea where she is going?", Gale wanted to know.

I shook my head. "No, how could I?"

...

Rue stopped a couple of minutes later, smiling at us. "Here we are."

We looked around, completely confused, but we couldn't find anything that could help us. Rue started to chuckle and pointed at a rather small rift in the rock. "Just go inside." Gale took the lead and had a closer look at the rock, then his face lit up at once. "Brilliant. Follow me, ladies." Suddenly he disappeared into the rock. A cave?

"I thought you could need some shelter.", Rue said and followed Gale into the cave. Could this girl read our minds? I went after her, really thankful. We finally had some kind of shelter, thanks to her. Since the small rift was hardly visible, the cave was really hard to find, so it was definitely the best hiding place you could find. Inside the cave I suddenly felt the urge to hug Rue and pulled her tight.

"Thank you!", I whispered and it felt like I was holding my little sister.

Rue smiled at me happily. "You're welcome!"

...

In the meantime it was already late at evening and Rue started yawning.

"Girls, why don't you go to sleep while I am doing the first watch?" Gale said.

"Thank you!" Rue agreed in an instance and curled up in a corner. A couple of seconds later you could only hear her deep and steady breathing.

Gale was sitting at the other side of the cave, leaning on the wall and opened his arms. "Come here. You look like you could fall asleep any second as well."

I snuggled up to him and he wrapped his arms around me, covering us with a blanket. After all that had happened today it was really comforting to feel his warmth.

He gave me a long and sweet kiss. "Good night, honey."

"Good night."

...

The sun was already shining through the rift when I opened my eyes for the next time. Had I been asleep really that long? Why didn't Gale wake me?

"Morning!" Rues quiet voice came through the cave.

"Morning!" I hadn't noticed that Gale had moved during the night. Right now he was asleep, his head resting on my lap. I softly ran my fingers through his hair. At his side even the Hunger Games were bearable.

Rue smiled at us and nodded in Gale's direction. "He fell asleep just a couple of minutes ago. Must have been up the whole night or did he wake you?"

I shook my head and grinned. Staying up the whole night, protecting two "little" girls was just so…him.

...

I slowly freed my legs, carefully so that Gale wouldn't wake up and used my part of the blanket as some kind of pillow for Gale.

Rue looked at me quizzically. "Where are you going?"

"Listen, I am just getting something to eat, alright? Stay in the cave."

"Should I come with you?"

I shook my head forcefully. "No. Promise me that you'll stay in the cave, okay?"

She nodded. "Fine." Then Rue stood up and wrapped her arms around me. "Take care, will you?"

"Sure. I'll be careful." I caressed her cheek, grabbed my hunting equipment and left the cave. My whole body was still a little stiff from the night on the hard ground and when I stretched I noticed the dark clouds. Although the sun was still shining, the sky was already nearly black. Not too long and there would definitely be a thunderstorm.

...

I tried to hunt really fast, always keeping an eye on the clouds. I was just busy collecting berries and mushrooms when it started to rain. I quickly made my way back to the cave, but before I could reach it the rain started pouring and my clothes were soaking wet immediately.

...

"Katniss, you're back! We were already worried about you!" Rue hugged me as soon as I had entered the cave.

I gave her a little smile. "Rue, I have been gone only for an hour."

"Two hours at least." Rue protested and looked at me. "Oh my god, you're soaking wet! Put off your clothes and slip under the blanket quickly! You are going to catch a cold otherwise." She pulled me with her and handed me the blanket.

"Ähm…Rue?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think that this is a good idea."

"Why n…" She finally noticed Gale. "Oh.." She was so busy with taking care of me that she hadn't really paid attention to the fact that there was a guy in the cave as well. Not to mention the cameras... Rue blushed and looked at the ground, embarrassed.

"Oh..don't worry about me, yeah?" Gale meant, a wide grin on his face and leant on the wall casually. I stared at him incredulously. We were in the Hunger Games, could be dead any second and he seriously had the nerves to be cocky? I could just shake my head, but for some reason his behaviour made me smile. The alternative would have been to be scared to death and that wasn't too helpful either. Why the hell did I even think about something like that?

...

Rue looked at Gale, then at me and back. "Well…I am outside for a moment, getting some fresh air." With that she was gone.

Gale pulled me tight slowly. "I missed you, little one."

"Little one?"

"You know, I am still taller than you are. But that's not the point."

"What is the point then?"

"What about the I-missed-you-part?" He started caressing my lips with his own. We completely ignored the fact that whole Panem could be watching us right now. But to be honest, I really didn't care. I didn't care that there could be cameras in the cave. This stupid Capitol should see that its arena couldn't keep me from being happy, even if it was just for a little moment.

...

Unfortunately I couldn't get rid of the dark side of the arena either, no matter how much I loved being close to Gale. After we had broken apart I rested my head on his shoulder.

"I am scared that this could be over soon." I whispered.

"Me too. But I hope that we have plenty of time left until they find us," Gale answered and I prayed that he was right…


	19. The big bang

It was raining the whole day and so we used the opportunity to think about a strategy.

"You know, I still go with the lazy-pig-strategy", Gale suggested and grinned.

"Lazy what?" Rue wrinkled her forehead and looked at me, but I had no idea what he meant.

"And how does this strategy work in your opinion?"

"Waiting in the cave until the biggest fights are over and getting into action when most of the work is done. At least the best fights are always at the end. I just hope that Cato is looking forward to this exactly as much as I am." Gale rubbed his hands in excitement and I couldn't help but scowl at him.

"You are not going to fight with Cato!"

"Oh, come on honey, why don't you let me have some fun?"

I rolled my eyes, but Rue was absolutely thrilled. Well, since she had met Gale, he was her hero, but I couldn't really blame her for thinking this way.

...

"So you guys really want to sit around in this cave, doing nothing?", I asked.

Gale and Rue nodded. Great, now even the two of them have allied against me, this would definitely be fun.

I sighed, but then an idea popped up in my mind and I smiled.

Gale looked at me suspiciously. "Oh boy, I know this smile. That always means trouble", he sighed, causing Rue to start chuckling.

"There is one thing we could do", I said, a devilish grin on my face. "What's our biggest advantage?"

Gale shrugged, "Arrows, snares and the cave?"

I nodded. "That too, but in contrast to the careers we all know what it means to be hungry."

Gale's face lit up at once. "I see where this is leading. Not bad, Catnip."

"What are you talking about?", Rue asked, a confused look on her face.

"Usually the careers collect all the supplies, right?"

Rue nodded.

"So we just have to find their camp and destroy them."

"Well, the first part is already done. They put up their camp right down by the river."

Gale and I looked at Rue perplexed. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I saw it on the first day. But we have to be really careful, there are booby traps everywhere."

How in hell could she know that? She was amazing…

...

Together we started planning our big attack. Rue came up with the fabulous idea of distracting them with a fire so we would have time to destroy their supplies. Unfortunately we had to wait for two more days because the wood was still too wet.

"Are you ready?", Gale wanted to know as we were standing in front of the cave. After Rue and I had agreed he continued, "Well, then I will see you in a couple of hours, 'kay?" He hugged Rue tightly, kissed me and ran away to lit the fires we had prepared on the previous day. I looked after him worriedly. I really didn't like the idea of him being on his own. What if something went wrong? What if something happened to him?...Damn, I should have gone with him!

Rue and I tiptoed closer to the career's camp and waited. We were too far away to understand their conversation, but all of a sudden Marvel, the male tribute of District 1 pointed at the sky. They all stared in this direction and started to discuss.

"This has to be the first fire", Rue whispered.

After a while the careers left the camp, leaving just a small boy to protect their stuff. I waited for another couple of minutes.

"Showtime." I took my bow and tried to find an ideal target.

"There!" Rue pointed at a small bag full of apples that was hanging on the large pyramid of supplies.

I grinned. I knew that every single camera was on Rue and me now. The girl on fire was about to cause an explosion by shooting on an apple. That would definitely keep everyone entertained for a while. At least the Gamemakers were going to love this. I aimed at the bag and released the arrow. One apple after the other rolled on the ground, but the boy didn't seem to notice. Rue and I stared at the pyramid, but after a couple of seconds the silence of the woods was destroyed by a big bang.

...

The small boy was standing there, frozen and stared at the big fire. The flames quickly started spreading and when the tribute realized what just had happened, he started running as fast as he could.

"Wow, that was cool.", Rue commented fascinated as she was watching the fire, her eyes wide open.

"Indeed," I agreed and took her hand. "Come on, we should leave now."

We tiptoed back through the bushes, but soon before we reached the cave, we heard the canon. Rue and I exchanged a terrified look and I had just one thought: Gale! Fear was rushing through my body, causing me to run twice as fast as before. I looked at the sky, but there was no portrait to be seen. Within a single second I felt hot and then cold. "Please, let him be okay", I prayed, took Rue's hand again and continued running, my heart hammering in my chest. A second canon was shot, but still no pictures. Damn, what was wrong? I had to know if Gale was alright!

...

In the meantime we had caught sight of the cave and when I saw the dark-haired boy who was standing in front of it, staring at the sky, relief filled my body. Gale! He looked in our direction and sighed in relief as well. I let go of Rue's hand and flinged myself in his arms. Gale pulled me tight.

"Thank god, you are here. I was so worried about you!", he whispered and ran his hand over my hair.

"I thought you were…", I started. "But who…?"

He pointed at the sky. In the meantime the pictures had appeared and showed the boy from the camp and the District 4 girl.

Gale looked at her portrait. "Pretty strong, that girl. Was really not easy to keep her from killing me."

For a moment I was speechless. "You…?" Then I realized the lacerations on his cheek and arms.

Gale nodded. "I was just about to light the last fire when she was jumping on me, right out of the bushes." He grinned at me. "And I always thought that everything they say about déjà vu was just rubbish." Only someone who really knew him could tell that there was a lot more behind this joke than he wanted to admit.

...

We entered the cave together, but all of a sudden Gale started moving his shoulders nervously.

"Everything alright?", I asked him, still worried.

"Sure. Probably just a mosquito sting", he answered and sat down on the floor, leaning on the wall.

"Let me have a look."

Gale shook his head. "Rubbish. It's okay."

For some reason the whole situation made me feel uncomfortable.

Gale noticed my look. "Seriously, honey, I'm fine."

"I am gonna do the first watch tonight!", Rue interrupted us. "You should go to bed, we have to be fit soon."

Technically it was too soon to go to sleep, but I had to admit that I could need some rest. I hadn't slept to well in the past nights.

...

"Fine.", I said, smiled at Rue and sat down right next to Gale. "Just wake me up if you want to switch," I told her.

Gale covered us with the blanket and I cuddled up next to him. It was pretty cold in the cave, so I really enjoyed his warmth.

...

Something icy touched my body and I woke up. I tried to find out the source for the cold, but the only thing that could have touched me was Gale's hand. When I took it the cold was such a big shock for my skin that I nearly dropped his hand again. His forehead was covered with sweat. I checked his temperature and froze. In contrast to his icy hand his forehead was far too hot. That was bad. Really bad. I already had an idea what was wrong with him, but I deeply hoped that I was mistaken…


	20. Worries

"Gale! Wake up!" I yelled and shook him on his shoulder. It took him a while to wake up.

"Honey, what's wrong?", he asked groggily. I pulled him away from the wall. "He, what…?"

"Pull off your shirt!" I had to see the sting.

"Wh…" He didn't have the chance to finish the sentence. All of a sudden he touched his head and every single bit of colour he had on his face seemed to disappear.

"Gale?"

"Go away!"

Gales expression caused me to jump on my feet and with an unpleasant feeling I watched him as he ran out of the cave with big steps. I followed him quickly.

Gale was on his knees, just a couple of metres away from the cave and retched heavily.

"Shit!", I cursed and ran to him. I kneeled down next him and started clumsily drawing circles on his back.

...

After a while Gale sat down in the grass and ran his hand through his hair. "God, I feel sick. What is this?"

"Probably the mosquito sting." Usually there weren't any dangerous mosquitos in Panem, but who knew what the Capitol was able to create.

"Do you feel dizzy?"

Gale nodded. O god, this was getting worse and worse. I desperately tried to remember what my mum was doing wit her patients if they felt dizzy and had a fever. In contrast to Prim I couldn't really cope with helping my mother. Even the thought of illness, wounds and blood made me feel sick.

...

I brought Gale back into the cave, where Rue was already waiting for us.

"What's wrong with Gale? Is he ill?" She looked at him worriedly.

"I think it's the sting. The mosquito must have given something to him."

"Does he have a fever?"

I nodded and Rue stood up. "Wait, I am going to get some cold water."

She disappeared so quickly that I didn't even have the chance to protest. While I was nearly fighting to keep Gale awake I was desperately waiting for Rue to come back. When she came through the entrance I let out a sigh of relieve.

"Here." She pulled a glove out of her backpack, soaked it with water and handed it to me. Gale gritted his teeth as soon as the cold fabric touched his forehead. I took his hand and swallowed. Cold water was definitely not enough, I needed help!

"Please, Haymitch! I need you!", I quietly begged and started to move the glove slowly over Gale's face.

"I need to have a closer look at the sting, okay?" I told him and he slowly turned round so that he was lying on his stomach. I pulled his T-shirt over his head carefully and looked at his back. A small red dot marked the spot where the mosquito had stung Gale. I was already swollen and started to spread.

"Rue? Have you ever seen something like this?", I asked her, because I had no idea what to do. She came closer and had a short look at the sting, then she shook her head.

...

In this moment Gale started shaking. "CCCaaan I-I…?" He pointed on the T-shirt in my hand. I handed it to him and watched him as he put it on and wrapped himself in the blanket. For a while I couldn't get my eyes off him. Seeing him like this hurt so freaking much and I could barely stand to know that he felt so miserable. I wished that I could something to help him. In my whole life I had never felt so helpless.

...

Over and over I silently begged Haymitch to help us. What took him so long? Didn't we have any sponsors? Damn, where was Haymitch if you really needed him? Rue had fallen asleep in the meantime and I sat down next to Gale again. Slowly I touched his cheek. "Please, get better soon, yeah?" I bent down and kissed the sleeping boy on his lips. "I love you!, I quietly added and curled up next to him. Right after I had covered us with the blanket, I heard a strange noise, coming from outside the cave.

...

I stood up slowly, carefully not to wake Gale and got out of the cave. Immediately I was met by the cold air of the night and scanned the surrounding. What was that? The light of the moon fell on an object near me and I got closer. It was a parachute that had gotten stuck in the bush. I opened it quickly and sighed in relieve when I saw the soup. It wasn't a medicine of course, but it was definitely something to start with. Then I notice the small piece of paper that was attached to the parachute.

**_Well, that wasn't too hard, sweetheart, was it? H._**

I couldn't help but scowl at him. This fucking asshole! He had painted something under the H., but I had no idea, what it was. The fact that Haymitch sucked at drawing didn't really made it easier for me to recognize the sketch. I forced myself to mouth "Thank you!" in the direction of the camera and went back into the cave. Gale was still asleep when I lay down next to him again. I thought about waking him, but then I decided to let him sleep. As long as I didn't have any sort of medicine it was definitely not bad if he slept a lot. The soup should stay hot for awhile, I could still give it to him after he had woken up.

...

Not even two hours had passed when Rue started rolling around on the floor, finally waking up with a noise that sounded like choking.

"Everything alright?"

"Nightmare", she answered and nodded in Gale's direction. "How is he doing?"

"Still no change", I told her.

"Shit." Her eyes met the small box with the soup. "What is this?"

"Soup. From Haymitch. I hope it helps him to get better."

Rue looked at me worriedly. "You look pale. Get some sleep, I am taking over your watch."

I shook my head. "Thank you, but it's okay."

"Trust me, you really need some sleep."

I really wanted to stay awake so that I could have a look at Gale from time to time, but as it got heavier and heavier to keep my eyes open I agreed. I cuddled up next to Gale, covered us with the blanket and after a couple of minutes I sank into a deep slumber.


	21. The Solution

**Hi! I'm so sorry for the long delay, but things at school were really hectic and I had to study a lot for my a-levels. I know it's a bad excuse for not updating in months, but I hope that I can update more often now. The next chapter should be out in a couple of days, until then: Enjoy chapter 21! It's more or less a gap-filler, but I promise that there will be a lot more action and drama in the next chapters! I hope you like it!**

...

When I opened my eyes for the next time the cave was already full of light. I slowly brought myself into a sitting position. Gale was still laying next to me, tightly wrapped in the blanket. I touched his forehead but his condition hadn't gotten any better. In this moment he turned round and opened his eyes. At first he just looked around groggily, but then he realized that I was sitting next to him and smiled.

"How are you feeling?", I asked worriedly. He was still pale and there were dark circles under his eyes.

He seemed to think about that for a moment. "Tired."

I took the bowl with the soup and opened it. "Here. Haymitch sent this to you." I handed him a spoonful of soup, but Gale shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm not hungry."

"Gale, you should really eat something." Rue's voice came from the background.

"She's right", I agreed with her and gave him a stern look.

He groaned quietly. "Wow, and I always thought mum was bossy. But apparently she not half as bad as the two of you."

His sarcasm made me smile and while Gale was eating a little soup Rue's voice broke the silence again. "What's this?"

I turned round and noticed that she was staring at the piece of paper Haymitch had sent me earlier.

"Oh, that's just a message from our mentor", I replied and continued paying attention to Gale.

"Can I read it?", Rue asked.

"Sure."

A couple of seconds later she squealed in delight. "Of course, that's it!"

I gave her a confused look. "Rue?"

She was on her feet immediately and running out of the cave. "Be right back."

"RUE!", I shouted after her, but she was already gone. I absolutely didn't like the idea of her running around in the woods on her own. Rue could be caught be the careers so easily. I wanted to run after her but I had no idea where she had gone. A quiet sigh escaped my lips and I decided to go looking for her if she hadn't returned in two hours.

"Don't worry about her." Gales quiet voice brought me back to reality. "She is fast, she will be back a lot earlier than we expect her to be."

"I know. But I just can't stop worrying about her. Sometimes I think she is…", I tried to explain my bad feeling.

He raised his hand slowly, softly caressing my cheek. "You see Prim in her, don't you?"

I nodded.

"Trust me, she will be fine."

I had no idea who he really meant, Prim or Rue, but I before I had the chance to ask him, he had fallen asleep again.

...

For more than one and a half hour I was just sitting in the cave, completely scared. Gale was right. Everytime I looked into Rue's eyes, I saw her. Everytime she was speaking, she reminded me of my little sister. I didn't want her to get hurt und I would never let somebody hurt her. Ever.

In this moment Rue appeared in the entrance of the cave and I let out a sigh of relief. Thank god. She smiled at me and showed me her hand that was holding a couple dozens of green leaves.

"What are you going to do with them?", I asked and glanced at the green stuff sceptically.

"Breaking Gale's fever." Rue said that so casually as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I got the idea from you mentor."

For a moment I was speechless. What the hell had Haymitch got to do with that?

"Haymitch?"

She nodded and handed me his note. Her finger was pointing at the small drawing under his signature. I compared it to the leaves in Rue's hand. It was the same. The thought that Haymitch sent us the saving solution was even kind of…touching. In the beginning I had hated him with my whole heart because of his rough – and more importantly _drunk_ – behaviour, but the knowledge that there was someone out there who was keeping an eye on us, even keeping us alive, made up for all this in a short second.

"You and Haymitch are really…great", I said to Rue and hoped that Haymitch could hear me as well. I wanted him to know that I was really thankful for his help. "What are we supposed to do with the leaves?"

Rue look at me, almost apologizing. "Ähm, Katniss. It could be that this whole thing is going to be a little…disgusting."

I took a look at Gale, who was shifting restlessly in his sleep, a pained expression on his face. It really hurt seeing him like this and in this moment everything else got unimportant. "Alright, what do I have to do?"

She took some of the leaves in her mouth and chewed them for a couple of minutes, then she put the green stuff on Gale's back. The leaves had changed into some kind of gooey substance. I stared at Rue sceptically. That was supposed to help Gale?

"How does it feel?", Rue asked quietly.

"Really good", I could faintly hear Gale's groggy voice. I hadn't even realized that he had woken up in the meantime. Those two words were everything I needed. I grabbed some leaves and followed Rue's lead. I could almost see Haymitch smirking. A girl that was chewing leaves for her sick boyfriend just had to be something he could sell to the sponsors. And we really needed them, for god's sake.

...

During the afternoon Rue and I repeated this action a couple of times and every single time Gale seemed to relax a little more. As the day went by I happily recognized that even his pale skin started looking much healthier than before. Before I went to sleep that night I watched Rue for a moment. Having her at my side was the best thing that could have happened to me in the arena. Without her I would have never understood Haymitch's clue about the leaves. She was the reason why Gale started becoming better again and for this alone I would never stop thanking her…


	22. The attack

A couple of hours later Rue woke me and I took over her watch. She rested her head on my lap and fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes, curled together like a kitten. I softly ran my hand over her hair and thought about Prim. I wondered if everything was alright at home. Suddenly I saw my little sister, fighting for her life in the arena while I had to watch her. A shiver ran down my back and for once in my life I was almost…glad that I had taken her place. I couldn't let her die. I just couldn't. I just wished I could hold her in my arms right now.

...

After the bloodbath things had been rather uneventful and I was afraid that the Gamemakers would act far too soon to keep the audience entertained. I was terrified by the idea that they could drive us together tomorrow, forcing us to fight. There were too many tributes left to let us rest. There were the three of us, Cato, Marvel, Glimmer, Foxface and certainly Thresh, the boy from Rue's district, but I couldn't remember the other tributes that were still alive.

...

In the next second something touched my hand and I realised that Gale had brought himself into a sitting position right next to me. He wasn't as pale anymore as he had been before, even the dark circles under his eyes were partly gone.

"Hi."

"Hi. Are you feeling better?", I asked.

He nodded. "A little bit, yeah. The leaves and the soup seem to help."

I smiled at him and touched his forehead. It was still hot, but you could tell that his fever was slowly breaking.

When Gale noticed Rue who was cuddled up next to me, a wide smile appeared on his face. "When did our little kitten over there fall asleep?"

"Just a couple of minutes ago."

"Do you want me to take over your watch?"

I shook my head. "Certainly not. I got some sleep earlier."

"Wow", Gale answered, his voice full of sarcasm. "And how long did I sleep? Two days? Three days?"

"You can't compare that. You have a fever and you don't feel alright. You had to sleep.", I replied, nearly angry with him. How could he even think about taking over my watch in his condition?

...

"Well, at least the whole fever-thing has one advantage", meant Gale and grinned.

"Sorry, but where exactly do you see the advantage of having a fever?"

Considering that Rue was asleep, Gale started to whisper. "You know, at least you can't complain that your boyfriend is not hot enough."

"Oh, shut up already.", I hissed at him. "Seriously Gale, that's not funny. Your fever isn't gone yet and it could still come back if you don't take care of yourself. If Rue and Haymitch hadn't helped us, I have no idea whether…"

He silenced me with a small move of his hand. "I know that you were worried and I am really sorry for that, but the whole thing wasn't easy for me as well, okay?"

"Of course it's not ease to deal with the pain…"

"Damn it, Katniss, I am not talking about the pain. Having a fever doesn't hurt", Gale hissed, nearly angry, "I came here to protect you but instead of doing exactly that I nearly die from some freaking mosquito sting and have to be fussed over by two girls like a baby. Do you think THAT is pleasant?"

...

Men and their stupid pride. I was so getting tired of this. We had been having this discussion for days now and you still couldn't see the end. We were arguing about the silly question who should protect whom, but to be honest we couldn't change this situation anyway. So what was the point in fighting about it again?

"Gale, let's just quit it, okay? We are simply protecting each other, alright?", I meant and sighed before I looked at him. "I will take care that you get better again and if it means so much to you, you can be my hero if the careers are chasing me, hm?"

"Wow, how gracious. But if you want me to agree to this deal, you will have to lay down right now and get some sleep. I am taking over your watch."

...

A heavy sigh escaped my lips as I grabbed the blanket and leaned my head on Gale's shoulder. "This discussion isn't over yet, alright? I am just too tired to be mad at you for being such a dickhead." There was no way I was going to loose this argument.

Gale rolled his eyes and smirked at me. "I think it's time for you to get some rest."

Before I cuddled up next to him I took another look at Rue who was still asleep right next to me, her eyes closed and a small smile on her lips.

...

Exactly this spot was empty when I opened my eyes for the next time. "Where is Rue?", I asked Gale, my voice full of worry and quickly brought myself into a sitting position.

"She went to get some leaves", he answered, "I wanted to stop her, but she had left before I had the chance to say something."

I sighed and got up. I had to find Rue before somebody else did.

"I will go and look for her. Can I leave you alone for a moment?"

"Sure. But take care of you, will you?"

I quickly kissed Gale goodbye and caressed his cheek. "Don't worry, I'll be right back." With these words I left the cave.

...

At first I was just running through the woods aimlessly. I had no idea where I should be looking for Rue. She never told me where she found those leaves. I was just about to turn around to start looking for her in the other direction when I heard a loud scream that made my heart beat about hundred times faster. "KATNISS!"

"RUE! Where are you?", I yelled, but she just screamed my name again.

I followed her voice as fast as I could and it led me to a meadow. With every step her voice got louder and I knew that I was on the right way.

...

I saw Rue the second I entered the meadow, but we weren't alone. Behind her stood Marvel, the boy from District 1. With one arm he kept Rue in a headlock while his other hand held a long spear. By now I felt like my heart seemed to jump out of my chest and a unpleasant feeling was rushing through my whole body, making me sick.

"Let her go!", I ordered and stopped. I didn't dare to use my bow yet, but I prepared him for the worst case. It was too risky to aim my bow at Marvel, I could easily hurt Rue.

Marvel laughed. "Do you seriously think I would do that? Katniss, Katniss, and I always thought you were smart."

My whole body tensed and I felt like I just had drunk pure vinegar. I had to save Rue. I couldn't let him hurt her, she was like a little sister for me. Alright, if this dirty dog wanted to play with me…

"Fine, what do you want? Food? Weapons?"

"Oh, don't worry, I am not interested in food or – how did you call this thing? – **_weapons_**_."_

"But?" I slowly noticed that my plan didn't really work like I wanted it to. Damn it, what did he want? I needed a new strategy, otherwise things weren't going to end too well for us… My worries about Rue increased in every second and it took all my strengths to focus on Marvel. I mustn't screw up now, just this once.

"I want you to watch your little friend here when she dies. She is the first one, then I will take care of loverboy." Marvel's voice and smile got more and more provoking. I clenched my fists and surpassed the urge to jump at him.

"Leave them alone," I hissed. "We both know what you really want. Why don't you just get me and let them go?"

"Of course. As if you would do that."

"I would. Leave Gale and Rue alone and I am all yours. That's your last chance to get me, so kill me now and let them go." This was my last desperate try to save Rue. As soon as he released her I would shoot him, but as long as he got her in a headlock I didn't have a chance. Rue looked at me half terrified, half pleading. She seemed so…helpless, so fragile and I knew that this picture would haunt me forever. I would die for her, but I had to try and convince Marvel to let her go. While I was awaiting his answer I prayed that he would let them go. The next second Gale appeared in my mind. If my plan backfired and I didn't get out of here, he would take care of Rue, that's for sure. She knew how to reach the cave and if the odds were in their favour one of them could manage to get out of this arena alive.

...

In this moment Rue's scream brought me back to reality. "No, Katniss, don't do that!"

"Shut up!", Marvel yelled at her and tightened the grip around her neck. I felt the anger rising in me. How could he treat her like that?

"So, what do you say? My offer is still on."

Marvel laughed one more time at me, his voice full of malice, then he pierced Rue's small and fragile body with his spear…


End file.
